


Finding her voice(book 3)

by Dragneelgirl113



Series: Skater boy series [3]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Drama, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Family, Gen, Heartbreak, Hurt/Comfort, Lemon, Loss, Therapy, mafia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:08:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 22
Words: 80,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27832054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragneelgirl113/pseuds/Dragneelgirl113
Summary: Lucy has been through hell and back with losing Natsu and then Zeref. Now losing one of the important things to her. It's up to Natsu to help her find her way back. Mature audience! for graphic scenes, lemons and alcohol. Please leave reviews and comments.
Relationships: Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser, Jellal Fernandes/Erza Scarlet, Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia
Series: Skater boy series [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2035645
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

Two months later.

"Lucy, do you want help to get ready?" asked Erza and Levy who had come over to hang with Lucy. "Sure" she said happily as the girls started going through her closets. "Damn Lu, do you have enough outfits in here" said Levy as she kept sliding outfits over. "Yeahhh, that's thanks to Natsu, he buys me an outfit each time I have a show" she said amused as she watched them go through her closet. "So do you even know where he is taking you?" asked Erza. "Nope I have no clue, I just know he said nothing too fancy" "It's nice. I'm glad he is doing this for you Lucy" Erza said with a slight smile. "Me too, after everything with Zeref..well" "Hey!" Levy scolded turning holding a finger in front of her. "No mention of him tonight. Natsu want's to make you happy so let him" "I absolutely agree" said Erza as Lucy held her hands up "Okay ,okay, I'm sorry" she said lightly as Erza pulled out a glittery blue cold shoulder top. "How about this?" "I love it" said Lucy as she took it from Erza and grabbed a jean blue skirt from her drawer. "Alright Lucy, sit down so I can do your makeup" said Levy. "Levy, you know I can do it" said Lucy. "Oh hush and just let me do it" She sat down in front of her mirror when she got a saddened look on her face. "Lucy?, what's wrong?" asked Erza concerned. "Oh it's nothing..just have to face people seeing my scars..I haven't faced the public in over two months without covering them up" Erza came and knelt down next to her looking at Lucy with compassion in her eyes.

"Lucy, Natsu didn't ask to take you out to make you sad, he wants to make you happy" "I know" she said. Putting a hand on Lucy's knee, Erza said "you'll be alright. Just go out and enjoy yourselves. You know if anyone gives you crap, then Natsu will kick their asses" That brought a smile to her face as Lucy thought about that and giggled as Levy said "there's a smile. Now come on, wipe that sad face off. This is going to be a wonderful night." "Your right" said Lucy cheerfully as she sat so Levy could apply makeup. "Just think about it, your husband is taking you out , to fully yourself and you don't have to worry about Layla since Gajeel and I are taking her. It will give us good practice anyway" "Oh how is your little one coming along?" asked Lucy as she patted Levy's stomach. Levy blushed as she said " they are going. Still can't feel much but I know he or she is in there" "I can't wait to meet him or her." Said Lucy excited. "Me either" said Erza. "Of course, this little one is going to need her aunties" said Levy as they all smiled. "Hey, you ladies almost done up there?" Natsu said up the stairs. "Almost" they all replied.

"Lucy, your gorgeous as you are, you don't have to go crazy" "Just be patient Natsu, your wife is almost ready" said Erza as Natsu chuckled. "She's beautiful already, nothing will ever change that. Scars or not" he thought to himself as he went back to sit on the couch with Layla. "Is mommy ready yet daddy?" she asked. "Nahh, not yet Layla" he replied "I bet she's going to look so pretty!" said Layla joyfully. "What, you don't think mommy's pretty already?" he said lightly. "No daddy. She's just gonna be extra pretty!" she yelled standing on the couch with her arms as Natsu laughed pulling her back down. " Be careful you goof. Don't need you falling off the couch" "I know daddy" "Oh Natsu!" he heard from above the stairs as they both jumped off the couch and went to the stairs as they watched Lucy come down the stairs. Natsu felt his heart would burst as he looked at the beautiful woman he married. Her hair was curled to her shoulders. Her makeup was very light as her eyes tinted with light blue eyeshadow and mascara with a light lip gloss. "You look amazing mommy!" exclaimed Layla.

"Thanks baby" she said softly as she looked at Natsu whose face was stuck looking her. Giggling Levy said "wipe your lip there Romeo" Lucy laughed softly as she put a hand to his cheek as he quickly snapped out of staring at her and wiped the drool coming out of his mouth. "Ssorry, I got stuck looking at a angel" he said smoothly. Blushing, she said "stop Natsu, I'm no an angel" "No your right, your not an angel, you're a star and your shining bright" he said with a smile. "Natsu" "Alright guys, get on here out of here" said Levy. "Uhh, aren't you going first? . Your taking Layla to your house remember?" said Natsu. "Right, well then come on!, get your butts moving. You two deserve this" Levy insisted practically pushing them out the door as Lucy put her little black heels. Natsu wore a set of black pants with black shoes with a nice red long-sleeved shirt with his trench coat. "You two have a great night tonight" said Erza as Lucy and Natsu walked to his car. "Have fun Lu!" she yelled happily as she raised an eyebrow "your in for a surprise tonight Natsu when you get back" she thought referring to a conversation Lucy had with her earlier. Erza gave her a puzzled look as Levy whispered into her ear making her face go red as she looked at Levy wide eyed. Levy nodded her head excited as she turned back to the couple and yelled "have a fantastic night Lucy!" making her laugh. "I love you mommy and daddy!" Layla yelled waving to them as they waved back. "Love you too baby girl" they replied as they got in the car. "Wow so they sure are excited for you tonight" said Natsu. Lucy smirked for he had no idea what she had planned for after their night out. "Alright, let's get going" he said as he started the car up and off, they went.


	2. Chapter 2

**there is a lemon in this chapter**

"So will you tell me where it is where we are going?" she asked. He grinned and said "nope. It's a surprise" "Well I can't wait" she said with a happy smile. He turned towards her as she looked out the window. "I am so happy you are smiling Lucy. I know that attack with Zeref scared you and for a while you weren't sure when he was going to pop up so you were frightened to go anywhere but your finally moving past that. It fills me with joy knowing I can help put that smile back on your face doing this" he thought as they pulled up to a place Lucy didn't recognize. Opening the door for her, she stepped out and took Natsu's hand. "Where are we Natsu?" she asked very curious as Natsu just smiled and took her hand into his as they walked and stepped around a corner revealing the sign as Lucy stopped dead as she stared. "A…kkk…karoke place?" she squeaked quietly as she turned her head towards Natsu as he was smiling from ear to ear as he nodded. "AHHHH! NATSUUU! THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH! YOU ARE WONDERFUL!" she screamed as she jumped into his arms throwing her arms around him as he picked her up holding her by her waist off the ground. "Your welcome baby" he said lovingly as he couldn't get enough of the smile on her face as he set her back down where she smashed her lips against his. He closed his eyes and leaned her back keeping his hand on her back as they both lived in the moment of each other. Releasing her, he stood her back up as he chuckled. "Come on Luce, let's get in there so you can show them what you can do." He said happily as she grabbed his arm tightly feeling happy as could be walking with him into the place. "Hey, it's Lucy Dragneel! The singer" some people said as they came in making Lucy embarrassed as she hid her face in Natsu's shoulder. "Don't be shy Lucy" he whispered as she looked at him. Putting a finger under her chin, he gently lifted her face and said "this is for you baby. Enjoy it" Realizing he was right, she shook off her discomfort and walked over to the stage where people cheered. "TThank been a little bit since I was on stage. I wasn't expecting a crowd walking in here. I was getting ready to just sing a couple songs then I was going to be good. But seeing all your faces, well do you want me to sing?" "Yes!" went multiple people filling Lucy's heart with joy.

"Ttthank you. To be honest, this was a complete surprise coming here tonight but I have to thank my husband Natsu for this." She said thankful as she looked at him as he nodded graciously. "Alright…well what songs do you want me to sing?" she asked. "That's up to you" said the dj nicely as she looked at the book of songs. "Alright, I think I found it" she said happily as she walked up to the stage and took a breath. Calming her face, she closed her eyes and in a very soft voice sang

**The song is from the movie Country song.**

" I'm gonna wear you down  
I'm gonna make you see  
I'm gonna get to you  
You're gonna give into me

Everyone bobbed their heads slowly back and fourth as they listened to her but in her mind, she only saw one person.

I'm gonna start a fire  
You're gonna feel the heat  
I'm gonna burn for you  
You're gonna melt for me

Come on, come on  
Into my arms  
Come on, come on  
Give into me

Natsu couldn't help but smile feeling the love she had for him through her words and couldn't be more thankful.

You're gonna take my hand  
Whisper the sweetest words  
And if you're ever sad  
I'll make you laugh  
I'll chase the hurt

My heart is set on you  
I don't want no one else  
And if you don't want me  
I guess I'll be all by myself

She slowly walked around the stage as she sang, her eyes filled with love and passion.

Come on, come on  
Into my arms  
Come on, come on  
Give into me

I'll use my eyes to draw you in  
Until I'm under your skin  
I'll use my lips, I'll use my arms  
Come on, come on, come on  
Give into me  
Give into me  
Give into me" . "I love you Natsu" she said as she finished as he started whistling for her making her smile. Everyone clapped as she giggled. "Thank you everyone from the bottom of my heart" she said grateful as people started shouting encore making her eyes shine with joy as she ran back over to the book of songs. "I don't need to think about this" she said cheerfully as she whispered something to the dj as she quickly ran out to the car and pulled something out of the glove compartment and ran back. She handed it to the dj who put it in as she hurried back to the stage ecstatic as the tune started playing. Natsu's eyes widened as he looked at her. She nodded her head excited knowing he would know the tune. "This song holds a special place in my heart..I sang it at my wedding. She held the microphone as tears started to fall slowly down her cheeks as she started. **Tip toes by jayme** dee

" Boy you came like a hurricane  
Knocked me down like a tidal wave  
Didn't see you coming so quick  
Or that you were moving so slick  
Always thought love was such a hoax  
Throwing shoes at my radio  
Why?  
Silly love songs made me so sick  
Couldn't stand them now they all click  
And the reason is this this this  
I feel like I'm about to fly, hey!

She began to dance on the stage as Natsu couldn't take his eyes off her, he was so surprised she was singing their song but he was happy as he watched her. People in the crowd cheered as she danced.

Hey boy you got me on my tip toes  
Don't stop kiss me and away we'll go  
Can't shake it so elevated  
Take me anyway the wind blows  
Don't stop love the way you'll make me float  
Right up off my tip toes

All my friends say I'm freaking out  
They don't know what it's all about, so?  
Call my girls up tell 'em all why, hey girl  
Call my girls up tell 'em bye bye  
I don't what you did to me  
It's like a world with no gravity, cause  
Now you got me feeling so high  
Feel like I'm about to fly, hey

Hey boy you got me on my tip toes  
Don't stop kiss me and away we'll go  
Can't shake it so elevated  
Take me anyway the wind blows  
Don't stop love the way you'll make me float  
Right up off my tip toes"

She took a nice little bow as Natsu stood up and clapped with tears coming down. He mouthed I love you to her as she went to the bar to get a drink of water. A couple guys who walked as she had finished her song came up to her as she was drinking and started trying to flirt with her. She laughed slightly as she smirked. " What's so funny? "Well for one thing I'm married so sorry" she said highly amused. "And who is the lucky guy hmm, don't see him around here pretty lady." She held back a laugh as she pointed past them. They looked where she was pointing to see Natsu stand up slowly with a threatening look on his face as he walked towards them and walked right past them putting his arm over Lucy's shoulders. "These guys bugging you baby?" he said sounding scary but she knew he was just messing around but the guys flirting with her didn't know that as they looked nervous as Natsu looked huge to them. "No my love, they were just trying to flirt with me..flirt bad" she said laying it on thick as the guys looked terrified. "So..you guys trying to flirt with my wife huh? He said in a low voice as they saw the fury in his eyes. "NO. no. nnnnno way man" said one of them as he had all of them scramble out of the club. Natsu watched with glee as they ran off as Lucy put her to his cheek having him look at her. "Because nobody messes with Natsu Dragneel" she said boosting his ego. He chuckled as he said "no, nobody messes with the love of my life…then they deal with me" She shook her head amused as she said "you wanna go home?." "Are you sure?" She got up close to his ear and said, "I have a surprise for you" She pulled away as she saw his ears and face go red. "Yup! we're out of here!, let's go!" he said quickly as she waved to everyone and thanked them again as Natsu grabbed her hand and had them running to the car.

Quicker then she thought he would, he had the car running and going down the street. He had no idea what she had planned but he knew he wanted it whatever it was just from how she sounded when she told him. Lucy had a sly smile for he had no idea what she had planned. She had been planning this for a couple days and knew tonight was a goodnight to do it. He had already made her whole night so now it was her turn to give him something he would never forget. He pulled up to their house, turned off the car and got to Lucy's side as fast as his legs could get him there. She graciously took his hand as he tried to contain his wanting to ask her what she had planned. Unlocking the door, she had them both take their shoes off at the front door. As he did that, she took his jacket off him and let it drop to the floor as she looked with him with seductive eyes turning him on as she started unbuttoning his shirt and letting that fall to the floor. He wasn't complaining as he attempted to kiss her, but she silently shook her hand as she grabbed his hand and led them slowly up the stairs into their room. She stopped them at the end of their bed as she turned around to face him. Still confused, he didn't get to say anything as she unbuttoned his pants and slipped them off his feet as he threw his socks into a corner. He was eager to know what she was doing as her hand lightly touched his cock sending his nerves into a slight frenzy since he was getting turned on downstairs. She laughed as Natsu said "Luce,wha" she put a finger to his lips silencing him. "Shhhh,no talking" she whispered. " Get on the bed" he did as she said and laid down on his back. Standing at the end, satisfied she said "good, stay right there..close your eyes" He did as she wanted.

"Lucy, can I" "Shhhh, I said no talking" she told him as he shut his mouth quick. He shut his eyes as he heard scuffling her around. Then his brain began to ask questions as he felt something over his eyes but didn't question it. His nose started to go nuts as he sniffed candles as he suddenly felt his hands leaving his sides and being put above his head. "Okay Luce. Whaaaa….IIII wha wha are you doing?" he stuttered as he felt her touching his cock. "Luc..ahhhhhh" he moaned as she began sucking on it. She throbbed up and down soaking it with her tongue as his body twitched. He tried moving his hands as he wanted to touch her so bad but couldn't. "Are you enjoying yourself?" she asked as she rubbed it with her hand ."YYYyyessssss" he answered. "Good" she said as she went back down on him. "Ahhhhhhhhh" he moaned in bliss as his cock bounced up hitting the top of her mouth gagging her. "Sorry baby" he apologized. "Your fine" she replied as she began kissing his chest making him lean his head back.

"Llllluuuuc" he said yearning for her as she made her way up to his neck and bit straight down making him scream in bliss. "You like that?" she whispered cocky as his eyes were closed as he slowly nodded his head. "Do you want the blindfold off yet?" he whimpered like a puppy nodding his head as she slowly untied it revealing the outfit as Natsu's mouth was hanging open. She was wearing black with red flames lingerie. "Oh Lucy baby please!" he begged wanting to have her so bad as he raised his body and face towards her as she smiled and shook her head pushing him back down. "No no baby. I'm the master tonight" "Mmmmmassster" he begged, "Lift up your cock" she ordered as he watched her go down to it as It was standing straight up. " ahhh" he moaned as she put herself on top of his cock and began riding him. Not being able to take it anymore, he pulled and pulled until the ropes came loose surprising Lucy as he threw her to the bed and inserted himself into her. "Na..nnathmmph" he covered her mouth with his hand as he thrusted harder and harder.

"No no baby. You should've known there is only one master here and that's me" he said as she moaned through his hand. "Now it's my turn. You tied me up and now it's your turn" he teased as he took himself out of her and quickly tied up her hands. "Natsuuu" "Shh" he ordered as he stuck two fingers into her clit as she screamed in ecstasy and bliss as he rapidly went in and out of her with his fingers. "Nnnnaaaatsssssuuu" "Scream for me baby" he said seductive as he chomped down on her neck. She screamed to the top of her lungs as he left a giant mark on her neck. He grinned as he looked down at her. "Whose the master now?" "Y.y…y." Putting his cock into her , he thrusted as he said "What was that?, who is the master baby?" "Y..yyy..YOUUUUUUUUUUU" "ahhhhhh yess that's right and don't you forget it" he said as he made her climax then he had cummed inside her. Lifting himself out of her, he dragged himself to where she was tied up and untied her as they sank into the bed. They wrapped their arms around each other as they laid there. "Thank you so much for tonight Natsu. I can't tell you how happy I was to sing again" "I know Lucy. I'm so happy that you are happy…and thank you for that surprise from you by the way" She turned herself onto her side as Natsu wrapped his arms around her stomach pulling her to him as they fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Natsu woke up the next morning with Lucy's hair completely covering her face. The curls had gone so it was all over. He very carefully moved them out of the way until he could see her face. Gently he leaned down and planted a kiss on her as she smiled and opened her eyes. "I love waking up to your kisses" she said sweetly as he had a warm grin on his face. "Lucy, I will kiss you every single morning if it makes you happy" "Don't tempt me" she said as she laid in his arms. "What's the plan today? She asked. "Not sure yet" replied Natsu. "You want to go get Layla?" "Yes, but not now. I'd like to spend time with my wife" he insisted. "You'll get no arguments from me" said Lucy as she cuddled up next to him. "So that's why Erza and Levy were excited last night. They knew about your plan didn't they?" he said as a lightbulb went off in his head. "you little minx" She laughed as she said, "you're just figuring that out now" He shook his head as he lightly smacked her forehead for teasing him. His eyebrows raised as he looked at he body. "You know your still wearing that sexy outfit." "No Natsu. Not right now..my neck hurts" she said as he looked and saw a great big hickey bitemark on her neck. "Damn, I outdid myself this time" he said grinning. "Oh well aren't you full of yourself huh Dragneel" "Yep" he answered with no hesitation.

"Come on Natsu, lets get our butts moving" she told him as she dragged herself out of bed. Begrudgingly he dragged himself out of bed with her. "I wanted my time with her but nooooo" he muttered to himself. "What was that?" said Lucy hearing him say something. "Nothing love" he said as he muttered quietly "mine, mine" "Come on Natsu!" she yelled as she went downstairs. Rolling his eyes, he said "I'm coming! Gimme a sec. damn Luce" he said to himself as he slipped a shirt over as he had his pants on and walked on downstairs. She was already preparing the coffee pot as he walked and took a chair next to the counter. "I wish I could sing again" she said looking away from him. He sighed as he said "I know Lucy. I'm sorry" Turning to face him she said "it's not your fault. We just can't take the risk with Zeref still being out there" Irritated ,Natsu said "If I wasn't half out of it at the time, I could have shot him and this would all be over" Reaching over the counter, she grabbed his hand as they looked at each other. "Once they are both dead and gone, I swear you will sing again" he told her firmly. " I know.. for now, just need to wait and bare it some more" she admitted. Hearing the coffee go off, he went to grab the pot and pulled two cups down for them.

"Any word on him?" she asked taking a sip of the coffee. "Not a damn thing. Since Evelyn got involved. There hasn't been a fucking thing that anyone can find on them" said Natsu "Well we know what his weakness is at least" said Lucy as Natsu gave her a puzzled look. " That's right, you were unconscious. Evelyn freaked when you shot Zeref. She almost sounded like a real mother" she finished bitterly. "Luce, baby ,it's fine" he said assuring her. "I know just sometimes..it still makes me mad how she treated you" said Lucy as her hand balled into a fist. "Lucy" he said calmly as he put a hand over her fist squeezing it. She looked at him and saw a peace in his eyes as he said "I resigned to it a long time ago that she was not my mother. Don't let her make you angry" "Okay" she said lightly. "Let's go do something with Layla" said Lucy. "alright, well let's finish the coffee then we can go" he said. A few minutes later, they were off and running into the car. "You want to stop for breakfast first? "he asked as they were driving. "Sure" she said as Natsu pulled into a diner parking lot. They went in as they ordered coffee and waited for the waitress to come back. "What are you thinking Lucy?" he asked. "Layla's birthday is coming up."

"Is it really?" said Natsu shocked for Lucy had never told him when her birthday was. "How many days is it?" "It's in three days" said Lucy. "Well we better get to planning then" he said happily making Lucy happy he wanted to get started right away. "So what are you thinking?, hit me with anything you've got" he told her eagerly. "I'm still working on it" "Happy" he said catching her off guard. "Huh?" "Happy the cat. It's the show that Layla always tries to watch" "Oh yeah!" "wow..he really is an amazing father. I didn't even think about that" she thought as she looked at him. "What?, what's with the smile?" "Nothing..just that you are a loving , amazing dad" "Lu" he got caught off as the waitress came back to get their orders. "I'll take the breakfast platter with my eggs over easy please" he told her politely. "I'll take the ham and cheese omelet please" said Lucy as they handed the menus back. "As I was saying, it's not a big deal Lucy. I just know that she loves to watch it." he said nonchalant.

Shaking her head "It's more then that Natsu, it may just be a tv show which isn't a big deal in itself but the fact that you pay attention enough to know that. That warms my heart like you wouldn't believe. For a long time, it was just me and her while I was wishing you were there." Lightly he grabbed her fingers and entangled them into his and said "that will never happen again Lucy. I'll be there for everything from this point on" "I love you Natsu" "I love you too Luce" "Okay, so Happy is her favorite show, right?" she asked him curiously. "Oh yeah, have you seen her, she goes nuts whenever it's on so I think the theme should definitely be all about him." Said Natsu. "That's a great idea." She said cheerful. "It's just sad she doesn't have any friends we can bring over for her" said Lucy. "Don't worry Luce, with all of us there, she will have plenty of entertainment, besides you know Jellal and Erza will spoil that child to death" Laughing, Lucy said "true, oh look here's the food" The waitress set Natsu's plate down as Lucy closed her eyes and shook her head at how much Natsu could eat. "There was a stack of five pancakes, over easy eggs, toast along with three sausage links" "What?" he said innocently. "Sometimes I forget how much you can eat" she said baffled as she watched him stuff his face while she ate her omelet. After they were done eating, Natsu acted like it was nothing when he ate a trucker's meal baffling Lucy even more, but she wasn't really surprised as she stacked the plates for the waitress to take. "So, want to head to the store before we grab her?" asked Natsu. She nodded as Natsu asked for the check. As he signed it, he looked up and saw Lucy with an attitude face. "What?" he said confused. "well maybe I wanted to pay for breakfast" she said as she turned her face away making him laugh since he knew she was joking. "You can do it next time" he said positively as they both got up and headed to the car. "I'm so excited for Layla. She's going to love this!" exclaimed Lucy chipperly. "Ha. I don't know which of you is going to be excited more, you or her" he joked as they got into the car. "I'm really glad I can do this for her. I missed enough of her birthdays" he thought as they drove to the store.

Getting out, he barely kept his footing as Lucy grabbed ahold of his hand and began pulling him into the store like she was little kid wanting to get her favorite toy. He couldn't hold back his laughter or happiness when he saw Lucy jump in place when they got to where happy the cat party stuff was. They grabbed everything they needed and put in the cart as Natsu amusingly said "calm down there jumpy. Ha. Your gonna make yourself sick" "I'm sorry, this is just the first time you and I both get to plan her birthday together and have it with everyone. I can't help it" she said calmly as she stopped jumping. "Want to get her presents while we are here" "YES!" she shouted as she grabbed his arm "oh boy,I know where this is going" he thought as he let her drag him to where the toys were. He saw stars in her eyes as she went nuts picking up toys and books for her. He looked until he caught something. "Perfect" he said as he went and picked up a happy cat stuffed animal.

"Hey Lucy, think she'll like it?" he joked as she yelled "yes!, she's going to go ballistic when she opens that. It's perfect for her Natsu. That should be from you" "Oh Luce , I can" Shaking her head with a warm smile she said "no you came up with the idea and you knew it was her favorite. It wouldn't be right if you didn't give it to her" "Alright" he said blushing as he put the cat in the car. "Alright, I'm gonna call it and say she's got enough now. Our daughter is going to be spoiled enough" he said as he pulled Lucy away from the toys. Once they cashed everything out, they put everything in the trunk where Layla wouldn't see it. "Let's go get our baby!" she yelled merrily as Natsu just shook his head with a smirk as they got in and drove to Levy's. She ran up Levy's porch as Natsu walked up behind her as Lucy quickly knocked as Levy opened the door. "Afternoon guys" she said cheerfully as Layla popped up behind her. "Mommy, daddy!" she said as she hugged Lucy who put her arms around her. 

Lifting her up, Natsu ran a hand through Layla's hair as she giggled. "Were you a good girl?" she asked. "Oh she was perfect" said Levy. "Ate all of her food, went to bed without a problem. Hell, she even got Gajeel to play with her. He's a softie when it comes to kids" she said warmly as she rubbed her stomach. "I'm so glad" said Lucy. She turned towards Natsu who had a puzzled look as she said, "you want to tell Levy about you know?" "Oh sure" he said as Lucy and Levy waved goodbye to Levy. Layla happily put her head on Lucy's shoulder as she carried her to the car. "So what's up Natsu?" she asked. "Well Layla's birthday is coming up" he started before Levy shrieked happily "WHAT!, WHENNN!" "I guess I don't need to ask if you want to come then" She shook her head as she said "absolutely count me in. How many days away is it?" "Three days" he replied. " I'll be there and do Erza and Jellal know yet?" "Not yet , I was going to let em know" "Don't worry about it. I'll save you the trouble and tell em myself" she said nicely. "Thanks Levy" he said as he went to go back towards the car. "Oh and Natsu, looks like last night went well" she teased as she raised an eyebrow making Natsu and Lucy both look at her. "Don't think I don't see where you tried covering up that bitemark Lu" Their faces went red as Levy smirked and started laughing. "It was definitely a great night Levy, but you aren't getting anymore then that!" said Natsu firmly but lightly. Lucy nodded in agreement as they all waved goodbye and left.


	4. Chapter 4

"You know, now that I think about it, you didn't do a great job covering that up" he teased hard. "Oh shut up, I was in a hurry and I was trying my best. It wasn't exactly something small I could cover" "Heeehee. Guess I really did over do myself didn't I?" he said gleefully raising an eyebrow at her as she lightly rolled her eyes. "Yes master, you did" she said humored. "You know that's only if we're in bed…my love slave" he said quietly so Layla wouldn't hear. "Whose master mommy" Layla asked causing their hair to stand on end as they fumbled for words. "Uhhh, hey Layla. Bbbbaby girl, let's pretend you didn't hear that okay?" Natsu asked trying to reason with her. "Why?" They closed their eyes cringing. "Nice job Luce!" he said under his breath but quiet enough she could hear it. "I'm sorry!. I didn't think she was listening" she replied quietly. "She's five. Course she's listening or have you forgotten how many freaking times we've cussed or how many bad words you have used in front of her hmmm?" he said accusingly. "Oh, shut it" she told him annoyed. "Why daddy?" she asked again. "Uhhh, well because those are only supposed to words for mommy and I to use okay?" she nodded. "when we're alone!" he said quietly through gritted teeth to Lucy who just huffed at him as they were on the way home.

Getting home, Lucy opened the door for Layla as she to the front door waiting for them. Natsu got out and looked over the car at Lucy. "Sorry" she apologized. "Me too" "I didn't think about it before I said it" "It's alright Luce. we figured it out. It's all over" he said trying to relax her. "Okay" she answered with a smile as her and Natsu went to the door and unlocked it as Layla darted through the house to her room. "I'm gonna play!" she yelled to them. "Okay!" they answered. "What do you want to do now?" she asked. "Let's just enjoy the peace we got right now. That bastard won't stay down long" he said with a hint of anger. "Alright, do you want to watch something together?" "I'd love too" he answered as they went and sat as Natsu put his feet up and Lucy laid between his legs putting her head on his chest as he laid an arm down over her. He rubbed her head as he said "I love you" "I love you too Natsu"

They picked a movie that had them both dying with laughter as it ended and their faces were bright red with laughter. "Wow, been a while since we laughed like that" said Natsu. "I know right" said Lucy. "Whhhew but I'm not complaining" "Me either" "When do you want to get the gifts and stuff out of the car?" she asked. "Not yet. Knowing her, she'll come right when we're unloading shit and then we're screwed. It's best we wait till after she goes to bed" he suggested to her. "Good idea" she said as she sighed lightly putting her head back down on Natsu's chest. She reached her hand back behind his head pushing it forward as he bent his head forward giving her a passionate kiss as he cupped her cheek in his hand. His tongue asked for entrance as they kissed for a few minutes enjoying each other. Releasing from it , Natsu said "what was that for?" "Because I wanted too. You have done so much for me Natsu and even know you are still doing so much" He began to lightly run his hand over her arm tracing her scars as he saw her get a saddened look on her face. Grabbing her chin, he said " these scars change nothing about your beauty Lucy. You are absolutely beautiful, and scars are not going to change that and as for what I've done. I do it because I love you and I wanted too..but I'll always take your kisses" She let out a small laugh as he let her chin up. "Better go check on Layla" she said as Natsu stopped her from getting up confusing her as he held a hand up halting her from talking. "Layla!, you alright baby girl?" he yelled up the stairs. "I'm good daddy!" she answered. Motioning his hands toward her room he said "see she's fine" "Okay okay" "Relax baby" he urged as he started rubbing her shoulders. "Oh my god that feels so good" she said pleasure as she tipped her head back enjoying the sensations he was sending through her body. "Ha, even without meaning too, I still turn you on" he said amused. "Your hands are ammmmmaziing" she moaned not paying attention to what he said. He rolled his eyes as he just enjoyed making her smile. He kept going until he saw she was getting so relaxed she was drifting to sleep. "Thanks for that" she said as she sat up. "Your welcome Luce" They spend the rest of the day at their house enjoying the rare peace that they were getting.

Over the next few days , Natsu and Lucy were trying hard not to spoil anything about Layla's birthday as she saw them running around when Wendy was teaching her. The day of the party , the two of them were on their phones for majority of the morning. They finally stopped and relaxed that afternoon as they slumped on to the couch with Layla between them. Turning her head left and right to look at them, she asked "are you guys okay mommy?" "We're good baby" she answered exhausted. "Daddy?" "Your mom's right, we're good sweetheart" he told her as he felt him falling to the side of the couch but didn't care to stop himself as he closed his eyes and started snoring. Layla started picking at him as she laughed."No , no Layla, Let daddy sleep" said Lucy as she pulled Layla off him. "What now mommy?" "Wanna take a nap with daddy?" Layla nodded her head happily as she and Lucy quietly crawled over to Natsu. Layla laid in the crook of Natsu's arm as Lucy laid herself on his chest and put his arm over her. Her and Layla reached their hands for each other setting them on Natsu's stomach as they smiled and closed their eyes.

He woke himself a little while later as he saw them snuggling against him. Softly he kissed the tops of their heads . He smiled seeing their hands together on his stomach. He put a hand over them enclosing them in his fingers as he thought "my girls" and went back to sleep. They all woke up a couple hours later as they rubbed their eyes and sat up. "Okay, what's next!" said Layla hyped up. "Easy there you weirdo" said Natsu. "Hey Layla, you know what tomorrow is?" asked Lucy grabbing her attention as Layla scratched her head thinking. "What is it mommy?" "It's your birthday baby girl!" Lucy said excited as Layla jumped off the couch. "Yay!, my birthday! AND DADDY WILL BE THERE THIS TIME" Laughing softly, Natsu looked at her and said "Yes Layla. I'll be there and for every one after that" Elated , she threw her arms around Natsu's neck as he wrapped his around her. She snuggled her face into his neck as she looked at him feeling nothing but love.

Lucy's heart filled with happiness as she watched them. "Despite all the birthdays he missed, she doesn't reflect or hold it against him. I am so proud of you baby girl" she thought beaming with pride for Layla and her peaceful, forgiving nature. After three minutes, Natsu coming back to reality looked over at Lucy as she held her hand up to stop him from saying anything. She shook her head and said "you were enjoying your daughter. Nothing wrong with that. No one could ever replace you in her heart Natsu. Not even when we were in Europe. She always felt something was missing. The guys tried" she said gently as she lightly ran her hand through Layla's silky hair as her cheeks blushed making Lucy's cheeks blush as she said "they tried but she only wanted one thing and she finally got it. Her father's love. Squeezing her for a second, he loosened as he said to Lucy "she has all the love I have to give. You both do" "Right back at ya" she said happily as she clapped her hands together and stood up. "Time to make dinner" she announced as she walked to the kitchen as Natsu and Layla turned their heads watching her. "Who wants to help me?" she asked grinning as Natsu and Layla both said "me!" They jumped off the couch and ran to the kitchen. They all had fun as Natsu and Lucy cooked and Layla handed them things they allowed her to grab. After a while, they had her sit down as she watched them. "Baby, you don't have to sit there, you can go play" said Lucy. "It's okay mommy. I like watching you two" "Why?" "Because I like seeing you and daddy smile at each other. Their faces turned pink as they looked at each other. "Mommies and daddies are supposed to love each other" "Right baby girl and do you know how much we love each other?" he asked for the fun of it.

She put her arms out to the side and stretched them as far as they would go and said in a squeaky cute voice " this much!" "And you?" She kept her arms out as she yelled "you love me and mommy more then anything!" Coming over to the counter, he grabbed the back of her head gently as he closed his eyes giving her a warm kiss on her forehead. He stayed there for a few minutes as a single tear dripped down on Layla's head as he took a deep breath and stepped back. "That's right Layla. Never forget that" he said quietly, his voice cracking. "Are you okay daddy?" she asked genuine. "Yeah, fine baby girl" he said quickly as he walked out of the kitchen and headed for the stairway. "You good out here Luce? he asked barely keeping It together. "I'm good Natsu, go" she said kindly as he ran up. "Mommy, is daddy sad, did I say something bad?" she asked looking guiltily. Quickly Lucy walked over and took Layla to the couch and sat her on her lap as she looked at Lucy. She smiled and said "no Layla, you did absolutely nothing wrong baby girl. Daddy is just really happy and didn't want to scare you" "It takes a lot to make daddy cry huh?" surmised Layla. "Yes it does. Daddy is a tough shell to crack. Do you feel any better?" Lucy asked. "yes" she answered as Lucy hugged her to her chest as Layla wrapped her arms around Lucy's stomach. Natsu came back down a minute later.

"What's that smell?" he asked alarmed as Lucy's eyes went big. "THE TURKEY!" they both screamed as Lucy rapidly put Layla on the floor as her and Natsu rushed to the kitchen. "Stay back Layla" said Natsu as he opened the over door as smoke came at them making them cough. "Jeeze, I leave for two minutes and you try to burn the house down" he said jokingly through his coughs as he waved the smoke away in front of him. "Well..cough , cough, how was I supposed to know the turkey would burn" she snapped as she stepped back letting Natsu take the turkey out and set it down. "How bad is it?" she asked. "Well..doesn't look like all of it's toast but forget the legs, those are done for" "Alright, well dinner is done, come on Layla" she called as Layla came and Natsu plopped her on a seat . He cut the turkey away from the burnt pieces and handed them out with green beans and mashed potatoes. "This is yummy" said Layla as she put green beans in her mouth. "Glad you like it Layla" said Lucy. "Thank you too Natsu for helping" "No problem"

Once they were done and everything was put away. They all planted themselves in front of the tv and watched a movie. It was late when the movie was over as Lucy said "time for bed sleepyhead" to the sleepy Layla who almost fell off the couch as Natsu caught her before her head hit the floor. "Yup, definitely sleep time for you little dragon" he said as he slumped her over his shoulder and motioned for Lucy to follow. Turning off the tv and lights. Once she locked everything, she went to the patient Natsu and followed him up the stairs as they went into Layla's bedroom. He gently laid her down as him and Lucy each grabbed a side and covered Layla up with her blanket then knelt down giving her a kiss and a hug. "I love you" she said sweetly with a big smile on her face. "Love you too Layla" they cooed as Lucy flipped her switch as Natsu put his hand around her waist as they walked to their bedroom. Once they were undressed and cuddled up with each other, he noticed Lucy looking at him with a longing look. "You want to know why I went upstairs don't you?" she silently nodded her head.

He sighed as he said "Missing her first five birthdays will be something I will never be able to get back and I have to live with that. But that doesn't matter to her Luce. All she cares about is me being here for this one and I can't …I can't put into words how much that means to me. I had to come upstairs because If I had stayed down there, I would have turned into a puddle" " You're the birthday gift she always wanted Natsu. Now that she has you, she'll be happy with anything. She loves you more then anything in this world" Holding Lucy tight, he said "me too" She laid her hand gently on his chest as he grabbed her fingers and put his through his. "let's get some sleep Luce. we got a big day tomorrow" She nodded as she snuggled into him as they closed their eyes ready for the big day they had planned for Layla.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning came up and Lucy and Natsu crept into Layla's room and got on both sides of her as Lucy gently poked her. Layla twitched and started rubbing her eyes opening them as they whispered, "happy birthday baby" and gave her kisses on her cheek as she grabbed their faces and hugged them making them smile. "It's my birthday" she said cheerfully. "Yes it is Layla" said Natsu as Layla took the blanket off and got up on the bed on Natsu's side as she raised her arms for him to hug her. In doing so she wrapped her arms around his neck and said " you're the best present ever daddy" then squeezed his neck tightly as he coughed making Lucy chuckle as she came over to his side and put a hand to his back. "I told you" she whispered into his ear as he said "you're the best gift for me too baby girl" "what about you mommy?" "Layla. Sweetheart with you two, I don't need anything else" Clearing his throat, he said "come on, time to celebrate you today" as with her still in his arms started for the stairs with Lucy right behind them. Setting her into a seat, they walked around the counter when Lucy said "what do you want for breakfast Layla?. You can have anything you want." "Pancakes!" she said happily clapping her hands together. "Okay pancakes it is" said Lucy as she got out stuff from the fridge while Natsu turned on the griddle while Layla sat there with a giant grin on her face kicking her feet in the chair excited. "Should I even bother asking if you want some too?" said Lucy skeptic as Natsu raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he told her as she giggled making sure she still had plenty of batter for a stack for him. After a few minutes, she had a small stack of three pancakes. "No mommy. More, more." She begged jumping in her seat. Amused, she put a couple more and put in front of her so she had a short stack of five pancakes. "Eat that first Layla then I'll make you more if you still want some" said Lucy as she put the syrup in front of her. "okay mommy" she said quickly as she drowned her pancakes and dug in. Lucy shook her head. "you are your father's child for sure. Appetite or not" she said with a smirk as Natsu looked at his giant stack of pancakes with eyes of a carnivorous animal. "Gimmme, gimmme, gimme" he said as Lucy laughed and put the stack in front of him.

"There you go sir" she said jokingly as he squirted syrup on his using half the bottle as Lucy grabbed it from him. "Both of you are going to be hyped up today aren't you?" she asked looking at them. "Aye sir!" they replied happily as they finished. "More please" they said in unison as they shoved their plates forward as Lucy just shook her head and got to making more. After eating another stack of pancakes, they put their plates in the sink. "Okay young lady now go on and brush your teeth. Don't need syrup stuck to your teeth all day" "yes mommy" she replied as she jumped down from her seat and went up the stairs. "What about me?" said Natsu teasingly as Lucy whirled towards him and put a finger to his chest. "you too mister, I don't want to be kissing sticky lips today" "Oh but don't you? He teased raising his eyebrows up and down making her giggle as he blew air into her neck as she pushed him off. "Go you big goof" she said as he kissed her hand and went upstairs. A few minutes later, Natsu and Layla came back down. "What now mommy!" she asked enthusiastic. "Hmmm" said Lucy but before she could answer, a knock came to the door as Lucy smiled and ran to the door and opened it and stepped out of the way.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAYLA!" screamed Erza and Jellal as she went running to them and jumped into Erza's arms. "Thank you" she said. "Wanna come with us for a little bit?" asked Jellal as she immediately nodded her head as she looked at Natsu and Lucy for permission. "your good baby girl, go have fun" said Lucy as she winked at Erza and Jellal as Layla quickly grabbed her shoes and grabbed Jellal's hand pulling him outside making him laugh. "We will call when everything is ready" Lucy said to Erza as she closed the door behind her. Natsu chuckled as he watched Lucy get giddy and excited as she jumped in place as Erza and Jellal left. "Come on Natsu!" she yelled as she ran to the car. "Wait!, I need to unlock it first" he said highly amused at her as he unlocked it and helped her with all the party stuff and gifts. "Oh my god, she is absolutely going to love this!" she exclaimed.

"I'm not sure which of you two is going to be more excited when she sees this" said Natsu. "What your not excited?" "Oh no baby, I am trust me" assured Natsu. "Okay , I need to get dressed then it's time. Yippeee!" she squeaked as she ran up the stairs as Natsu shook his head as he started setting things up on the table. Ten minutes later, she came back down in a pair of jeans and t-shirt with her hair ties back in a pony tail. "Where do you want to start?" asked Natsu. "We can decorate the table first..wow I think this might be the first time we use it" said Lucy shocked ."well we never have this many people over at once so we just haven't had a reason to use it" explained Natsu as he grabbed the plates and table cloth while Lucy grabbed the streamers. Setting up the table, Natsu set up the streamers due to Lucy not being tall enough to reach the wall as Natsu liked pointing that out. After decorating the dining room with happy stuff, Lucy turned to Natsu and said, "guess what time it is"! she said in a quiet, happy voice. He rolled his eyes lightly and said, "time to wrap presents?" "Yes! Time to wrap presents" she yelled as she grabbed the wrapping paper as Natsu went to grab the bags out of the car. "I don't think I've ever seen her this excited. It's great" he thought as her cheeks get pink with how happy she was when she saw him. Putting them down, she began pulling stuff out and wrapping it. He felt so happy as he pulled the happy the cat stuffed animal and began wrapping it.

"You know that's going to be her favorite present" said Lucy as she saw the smile on his face as he wrapped it. " As long as she's happy, that's all that matters to me" said Natsu. "I don't think there's a chance she wont be happy today" " Levy and Gajeel should be here soon shouldn't they?" asked Natsu. "Yeah, actually within the next twenty minutes I think" said Lucy as she finished wrapping and headed to the kitchen. "I'm staying out of there for the next hour" he joked. "why?" she asked. "Psh you think I'm going to be in the way when your baking her cake oh I don't think so. I do not want to get yelled at. If I get hungry, I'll grab something out of the cupboard" he informed her. " Oh Natsu stop, Im not" she stopped as Natsu gave her a look that said yeah right. "Oh shut up!" she said as she started laughing as she got everything out she needed to make the cake. Twenty minutes later, Levy and Gajeel showed up. "LEVY!" "LUCY!" they screamed in joy as Levy ran to her as Lucy put her hands around Levy's shoulders hugging her as Natsu and Gajeel just stood there with smiles on their faces. "What's up Gajeel. Hadn't actually seen you in forever" said Natsu as they slapped hands together as they sat on the couch. "Nothing much. Been dealing with Levy and her pregnancy. "Hey!" chipped in Levy "Sorry baby, just being honest" he said quickly as Levy stuck her tongue at him before returning to Lucy.  
Sorry haven't been at the base lately. Construction job I got has kept me busy" "No worries on that man" said Natsu. "Where is the little munchkin anyway?" he asked "Erza and Jellal took her out for some gifts so we could get the house ready" explained Natsu. "Because she isn't going to get enough gifts already today" Gajeel said lightly. "Hey, it's her birthday. She can have as many gifts as she wants today" said Natsu.

"She's got you wrapped around her little finger" teased Gajeel as Natsu smirked and said "just wait, your little boy or girl I'm sure is going to have you wrapped around their finger too, especially if it's a girl" "Yeah, your probably right" agreed Gajeel "You want a drink?" asked Natsu as he got up and walked to the counter. " Heyy Luce, when you have just a second, can you pass me two cokes?" he asked nicely. "One second" she replied as Levy opened the fridge and got out two cokes and passed them to Natsu with a smile" "Thanks Levy" said Natsu and Lucy. "sure" she replied sweetly as Natsu went back to the couch and handed Gajeel the soda. "Thanks..so, Natsu how are things going?" "Huh, what do you mean?" he asked confused. "At the mafia, with Zeref and Evelyn" Natsu's face dropped as his tone changed. "We aren't talking about that. I do no want to talk about them on my daughter's birthday" he said coldly as he set his drink down and headed to the bathroom. Turning his head, Gajeel saw Levy scowling at him and mouthed stupid at him as Gajeel gave her a innocent face and shrugged his arms while Levy closed her eyes and rubbed her nose between two fingers. Giving Lucy a I'll be right back motion, she stomped over to Gajeel and pulled at his ear as she pulled him to a corner as he groaned. Standing against the wall, Levy glared at him as Gajeel rubbed at his ear. "What?" he said "You fucking dumbass!" she whispered. "You really think Natsu wants to talk about that. It's Layla's birthday and the first one's he's been able to have with her. Luckily Lucy didn't hear or you would have gotten worse then just that ear pull" "Lev" "Don't push me mister. Do not mention anything about the mafia, Zeref or his mother today or so help me Gajeel. I'll make sure not to give you anything in bed for two damn weeks." He looked at her like she had ripped his heart as she stood their firm.

"Do you hear me?" "Yes.. sorry. Just didn't think about it" he apologized sincerely. Softening her face , she said "of course you dope. Natsu already has to think about that on a daily basis. Him and Lucy both deserve a day that they don't have to think about any of that at all." "Your right shrimp..you better get back there or Lucy gonna wonder what the heck happened" "Right" she answered with a small smile as they walked back into the living room. Gajeel kissed her cheek as she went back to the kitchen and he went back to the kitchen as Natsu came back out. "Hey, sorry man" Gajeel apologized. Natsu waved his hand "don't mention it, you didn't know. Let's just forget it. Today is all about Layla" he said with a grin as Lucy yelled in delight as she pulled the cake out and put it on the stove top. "Well how does it look?" asked Natsu "It looks great! now just to decorate it" she said as she started singing a little song to herself but Natsu smiled as his ears picked it up. " I'm so glad you found a reason to sing Luce" he thought as him and Gajeel watched a football Natsu threw on the tv. "Hey Lu, where do you want the gifts placed? Gajeel and I have some in the car" asked Levy a while later. "Uhhh, put them on the stool in front of the window near the front door" said Lucy as she was putting the finishing touches on the cake. "DONE!" she squealed as Natsu came up to look as she jumped tiny jumps in place as she put her hands on Natsu's chest as he put an arm around her shoulders.

"It looks just like him Luce. You did great" She blushed as she laid her head on him. "Alright!" she said suddenly taking her head off him. "Call Jellal and tell them to get their butts back here. Party is ready to start!" announced Lucy as Natsu laughed taking his phone out and called Jellal. A minute later, he hung up and said "they are on their way back as he heard commotion behind as Levy dropped some of the gifts she had. "Damn Levy, how much did you buy for her?" Natsu questioned. "Oh not much, just a little here..little there" she said shyly making Natsu crack up. "Levy, your dropping the stuff in your hands. That's a little more then just a little here and there. Damn , my little girl is going to get spoiled today" Gajeel came over and helped her put the stuff on the table when Erza and Jellal pulled up. "Shit!, everyone hide" Lucy said quickly as they all dove for a corner.

Opening the door slowly, Layla stepped through as everyone shouted "SURPRISE LAYLA!" She shrieked in joy as she saw Happy the cat stuff everywhere. Her eyes were bright and shinning with happiness as she ran to Lucy who scooped her up "You like it?" "I love it,I love it, I love it!" she said filled with pure joy as Lucy set her down and she began running around. "What did you give her?" asked Natsu as him and Lucy both looked at Jellal and Erza. "Candy" they said in unison as Natsu and Lucy looked at their daughter spazzing. "Your taking her home" they said making Erza and Jellal raise an eyebrow. "You try sleeping with a hyped up six-year-old dosed on sugar and cake then come talk to us" teased Natsu. "Yeah, yeah Natsu, I mean we'll take her if you really want to get rid of her" said Jellal. "Hell no!" yelled Lucy and Natsu. "uh uh, you aint taking my kid" Natsu told him. "Come on you guys" insisted Lucy. "This is a great day, let's keep it going" "Right" agreed Natsu and Jellal as they joined the others in conversation as Layla was running around all over the place and talking with Erza and Levy who had bright smiles on their faces as they chatted with her. "How's it going man?" said Gray as Gajeel shook his hand. "Not much. Mafia going alright for you?" "You know it..and with Natsu in charge, well you know" he joked as Natsu gave them a not pleased look as the guys laughed. After Lucy had served them a buffet style dinner, Lucy had everyone sit at the table. "Wow, was wondering when you guys were going to use this room" said Erza. "Well we never have you guys over at once so there's never any point in eating in here" said Natsu as Lucy flipped the light switch off bringing in the birthday cake with candles as Layla was bouncy in her seat as she rapidly clapped her hands as Lucy set the cake down. "HAPPY!" she screamed as she pointed to the cat face and looked at Lucy who had a warm smile on her face. "Thank you mommy!" Your welcome baby girl.. everyone ready to sing?" she asked. "Daddy!, daddy! Here here" she said excited pointing to the space next to her as Natsu gladly got up and went to kneel down next to her.

" Alright everyone ready…" "Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday Laylaaaa, happy birthdaaaaay to youuuuuu" everyone sang as Lucy sang one last verse to her making everyone happy hearing Lucy sing as she blew out her candles making everyone clap and cheer as Layla hugged her face giving her a big kiss on her cheek and then put her arms around Lucy and Natsu's necks bringing them close to her face smooshing them as they grinned and turned their heads kissing her face. "Happy birthday baby girl" said Lucy. Layla was giddy and anxious as she bounced wanting to dig into the cake. "Natsu, do you want to do the honor?" "I'd love too" he said as he took the cutting knife from Lucy. Turning away from Layla, he sliced the cake and handed the middle of Happy's face to Layla as she stuck her fork right in making everyone chuckle. Natsu finished cutting the cake and passed the pieces. Layla's face was covered in frosting as Natsu shook his head wiping her face off. "So did you like the cake then?" "Yep" she answered point blank. "Okay people, time for the best part" announced Natsu as all of them finished up their pieces. "Presents!" Layla said happily as Lucy pointed to where they were stacked as Layla raced out of her chair to see the giant stack of gifts. Layla thought she might explode with happy she felt looking at them.

Coming into the room with everyone Lucy said "okay Layla, I know your excited but your not going to just tear apart every present. You need to see who it's from" "Mommy" Layla said impatiently. "Layla…"Natsu said in a warning tone as Layla looked at him. "Listen to your mother" "Okay mommy but come on!" she begged as she sat on the floor on her legs waiting as Lucy and Natsu sat next to the stack taking presents down and handing them one by one to her as Layla read the tag on every one and thanked them as she opened it. She received some kid's books from Levy and Gajeel along with some toys and clothes. Erza and Jellal gave her some singing books making her and Lucy both smile. "You can learn to sing as pretty as your mom Layla "complimented Jellal as Lucy blushed. With all the toys including the ones she received from Natsu and Lucy, Layla was ecstatic as she saw one more gift as Lucy gradually handed it to Natsu.

He smiled as he handed it to Layla who read the tag. "To my little dragon, I know you were granted one birthday wish you wanted, I hope this is another. Love daddy" she finished as she looked and smiled at Natsu as he nodded towards the present as she tore the wrapping paper. Tearing the last of it, everyone covered their ears as she high shrieked holding Happy the cat. "THANK YOU DADDY!" she said as she jumped on Natsu knocking him to the floor as she wrapped her hands around his chest and back as he rested his hands on her shoulders. Lifting his head up, he said "happy birthday Layla" With tears in her eyes, in a cracked voice she said " I love you daddy!. You gave me the best two presents in the world" as she laid her head on his chest grabbing hold of his shirt in her hands as tears fell down her face. **I loved writing this chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

Getting himself up into a seating position, he cradled Layla into his arms as she gripped Happy and Natsu's shirt hard as everyone looked in awe at the love between a father and his daughter. Sitting her up away from him, he placed a finger under Layla's chin as she looked at him as he said in a tender voice "hey, no crying. Today is a day to celebrate" he rubbed her cheeks wiping the tears away. "There happy tears daddy" she said lightly as she got up off Natsu and turned to everyone. "Thank you!" she yelled as they all smiled at her and welcomed her thanks. Few more hours went by as Layla with Happy right by her hip played with her new toys as everyone gathered around the couch talking. Finally they called it when they saw the sugar and excitement finally come down as Layla began blinking her eyes multiple times and yawned even when she tried covering it up. "Okay little one, time for bed " said Natsu as he hoisted her up into his arms as she wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder. "Awww" went everyone as Natsu whispered " wanna say goodnight baby girl?" she opened her eyes as she quietly said "goodnight everyone. Thank you." She didn't get to say anything else as her eyes became heavy again as she closed them as Natsu waved to everyone. Lucy walked them all out and shut the door behind them.

Leaning against the door for a minute, she let out a breath as Natsu said "you did amazing today Lucy" "You did too" Looking around at the mess, Natsu said "What do you want to do? "It'll be there tomorrow" she said relaxed as she walked quietly and saw Layla was sound asleep. "Damn, all that really wore her out" she whispered as she kissed Layla's nose as Layla twitched and rubbed her nose on Natsu's shoulder making them chuckle as she gripped Happy tighter. "Come on Luce" he said as they went up and towards Layla's room as Natsu gently put her into bed and covered her up with the blanket as she snuggled up to Happy. Rubbing her head, he bent down and kissed her on the side of her head. "Goodnight little dragon" he whispered as he walked to a waiting Lucy and grabbed her hand as they shut the light off and walked to their room. "You know that's going to be her favorite toy. Forget everything else.' "Haha, yeah I know. It wasn't my intention" said Natsu as he laughed quietly.

Lucy got into her night shirt and slipped into bed as Natsu removed his clothes and got in beside her as Lucy cuddled herself against his body as he wrapped his arms around her giving her a kiss on the back of her neck. "Today was wonderful Natsu" "Yes it was" "I don't want this night to end. It was such a good day today. Everyone was happy. Nothing bad,..noone tried to ruin anything" "That's what makes these days special baby and why we are fighting. We'll get days like this back, you'll see." Grabbing at his hand around her stomach, she smiled and said, "I believe you." "Well then believe me when I.." he stopped as he looked down and saw Lucy was out. He chuckled as he laid down on pillow. The next morning Lucy was up and dressed while Natsu and Layla slept. "Both of them were troopers yesterday, not to mention Layla had so much sugar in her, it will be a wonder she doesn't sleep till eleven. She came downstairs and and brewed a pot of coffee. "He's going to want some when he gets up. Now to get started" Happily, she turned on some music and started picking up the plates in the dining room. Before she knew it, she was singing as she cleaned up. While he didn't move, Natsu woke up hearing her voice and enjoyed listening to her. "I can't wait till she can get back on a stage again" he thought as he closed his eyes listening . "Surprisingly enough, this isn't as messy as I thought it would be, minus all the paper crap" she said out loud as she stuffed the paper plates and stuff into a trash bag.

As she began sweeping, the doorbell went off. "The doorbell? Nobody has ever used that" she thought as she went to set the broom down and grab her phone to check for a message. "It's not anyone we know. They know to send a message before they show up" she told herself as she warily looked towards the door as the doorbell went off again. Natsu was sitting up in his bed alert as he heard the doorbell go off. She opened it as she yelled "Natsu!" and stepped backwards as he came rushing down the stairs and by Lucy's side as he put an arm around her and pointed the gun he grabbed at the security guard. "What the hell do you want.? You've got three seconds before I shoot you in the head" he said hostile as Lucy shivered. "I was sent by master Zeref to give the lady this" he said as he held a rolled-up piece of paper which Natsu snatched out of his hand which Lucy immediately took and unwrapped. Glaring he said "get the fuck out of here, your package wa-" he was cut off by Lucy as she let out a horrified gasp dropping the paper. "Lucy!, what is it?" he asked alarmed as she shook her head.

Still aiming the gun at the guard, he tilted his head down to look at the paper and rage grew inside him as it was a vulgar drawing of Lucy bleeding where Zeref had raped her. Zeref had written at the bottom look forward to seeing you like this again. "AHHH" he screamed in fury as he clicked his gun at the guard and his hand shook with the outrage he was feeling. "Ggggget ooout of here NOW!" he shouted as the guard left as Natsu slammed the door and threw the gun to the floor as he ran to Lucy who in a fetal position. "Lucy" he said as calm as he could as she shook her head and began spazzing. "He's coming after me!, he's coming Natsu. I know it" she said so frantic he could barely understand her as she started hyperventilating. Grabbing her shoulders, he sat her up. "Lucy , no no no. Look at me" he told her as she looked everywhere but at him. Grabbing her cheeks with his hands he put his forehead against hers. "Baby" he whispered as her panicked eyes looked at him. " .he. he." "No Lucy, breathe baby" "I can't!" she cried as she started rocking back and fourth "That son of a bitch" he thought angrily. "Don't usually do this but this is my only shot" he thought quickly as he kissed her fully on her lips.

Feeling his touch, she stopped rocking as she sat there. "Come on baby, please calm down" he pleaded in his head as he desperately kept his lips on her as he finally felt her body relaxing. Releasing his mouth slowly from hers, he took his hands from her face and looked at her. Her eyes were filled with fear as she brought her hands to her head. Closing her eyes tight, "I'm seeing it all over again Natsuuuu" she wept as he sat right there heartbroken as she looked at him pleading "help me! Please" Silently he took her in his arms as she cried out. "Mommy?" said Layla worried as Natsu looked at the top of the stairs to see Layla standing there with a concerned look on her face as Natsu motioned for her to come down. She quickly came down the stairs and slipped between Natsu's arms to hug Lucy as she clung to Layla. "It'll be okay mommy" she said softly as Lucy cried. Noticing the paper on the floor , Layla asked "what's that daddy?" "Ash" he said coldly "That's not for you to see Layla understand?" he said sternly as she nodded. Lighting up his tone some he said "Layla, can you please go grab my phone off my stand upstairs?" "Yes daddy" she replied as she got out from in between Natsu's arms and ran on her little feet to Natsu's room and grabbed his phone and was back down to give to him. "Thanks baby girl" he said with a smile as she grabbed her Happy cat and got back to hugging Lucy. Taking his hand away from Lucy, he unlocked his phone and dialed a number and put it in speaker. "Hello?, Natsu?" "Jellal, Get everyone over here…now" he said bitterly. "Understood. Whats going on?" "Tell you when you get here. Just get your asses over here" he ordered as he hung up and put his hand back on Lucy who was still crying. "Lucy, baby I am so so sorry" " wont ..gggo awayyy" she stuttered making Natsu clench his teeth. " I'm going to rip this guy apart.. Death would be way too easy, no I'm going to make him feel every bit of pain he has put her through" he thought darkly "Him and Evelyn"

Jellal and the others came through the door fifteen minutes later as they saw Natsu and the other two on the floor. " Natsu? what the hell happened? And your still in your boxers' man" said Gray concerned and surprised. Natsu looked at him very annoyed. "I know that you damn stripper, that is not the issue here" he looked back towards Lucy who had stopped crying and was sniffling as she put a hand to her throat because it hurt. "Lucy, I gotta go get dressed" he said nicely as she sat up on her knees. "Come on kiddo" he called to Layla who grabbed his hand as they went upstairs to get dressed. The other three stood there silently looking at Lucy who hadn't turned around to face them yet. Jellal saw the paper on the floor and picked it up. "Jellal?" said Erza as she saw his face shift to anger when she and Gray saw the drawing. "That bastard" he growled as he instantly folded the paper. Natsu came back down a minute later and saw the paper. "I'll take that" he said taking it out of Jellal's hand and brought it to the sink where he pulled matches out of a drawer and lit one to the paper as it shriveled up into nothing. "Natsu, what the hell happened?" asked Erza as she saw his hands clenching the counter.

"One of Zeref's fucking bodyguards showed up with a package for Lucy, you saw it" said Natsu. "and you let him live?" said Jellal surprised. 'He wasn't my priority; I was focused on my fucking wife!" he yelled angrily. "Jeeze Natsu, calm down" urged Gray. Whipping his head towards Gray, he said "don't you fucking tell me to calm down!" "Natsu snapped as Lucy walked over and put her arms around him. "it's okay Natsu" she said croaky. He took a deep breath as he said "we need to go to the base now" "Alright, let's get going" said Erza as her and the other two headed for the door. "Grab your shoes baby girl" said Lucy as Layla said "I need to get Happy" "Don't bring him sweetheart. I don't want him getting lost or dirty" said Lucy. "Noooooo, mommy!" Layla yelled as she threw a tantrum. "I want Happy!" she cried. "Layla Dragneel!, stop it right now" she said strictly as she could with how emotionally exhausted she was. Layla however wouldn't listen as she started flailing and kicking her legs.

"LAYLA!" Natsu yelled sternly getting her attention as he stood there with an irritated face. "Get up off the floor and knock it off. Your mother said no and that is it. Do I make myself clear?" He looked at her expecting an answer as she crossed her arms and muttered "yes daddy" "Okay, get your shoes on" Layla got up and started stomping towards her shoes. "Layla Nashi Dragneel, quit it or so help me, I will spank your butt" he told her getting angry as she finally calmed down and put her shoes on. "Come on baby" said Lucy quietly as she took Layla's hand as they all headed out the door with Natsu right behind all of them. Getting into his car, Natsu drove the girls following behind Jellal as he rode with Erza and Jellal. Once they reached the mafia base, they headed upstairs to the second level. Layla sat in a corner as she read one of the new books Levy had gotten her. Natsu stood at the balcony as he looked over at the members below and ordered "contact whoever you need too but get your butts moving on finding Zeref and Evelyn now!" "Gray, can I talk to you?" Lucy said quietly pulling at his sleeve. "Sure, Lucy what is it?" he said as he sat down next to her while Erza and Jellal stood with Natsu. " You need to know about Natsu's past"


	7. Chapter 7

"Sure, but do you want to talk about that here?" he asked quietly tilting his head slightly towards Natsu whose back was turned to them. Conflicted for a moment, she said "your right, come on, let's go to the back" as they got up and started walking towards the stairs when the other three saw them. "Hey, where are you two going?" asked Natsu. "To the back, I need to talk to Gray" said Lucy firmly. "You sure you don't want us to come with you?" asked Erza questionably. "Yes, we aren't going anywhere, just in the back. Come on Gray" she said as she grabbed his wrist and went downstairs. Natsu didn't question it. He knew Gray would protect her and if she didn't want the others to follow then it was something between her and Gray alone. He had already had his own talk with him, now it was Lucy's time. "I wonder what's going on" said Erza as Jellal eyed her. "What?" "Don't even think about it Erza. Just let it go. Lucy has her reasons and we need to trust her." Said Jellal reasonably. "Your right" she admitted as she went back to watching the members below. Sitting down, he looked over at Lucy who closed the door behind them. "So, what's this about?" Lucy had a worried expression as Gray said, "what's up Lucy? are you alright?" Sighing , her croakiness clearing up some as she came and sat next to him and said "I trust when Natsu told you about my past, he mentioned the part about when that guy wished me dead in the cafeteria" "Yeah, he mentioned it. I'm not surprised, sounds like the guy was a real asshole." She chuckled as she looked at him with a calm face confusing him. "Am I missing something?" "Natsu, he'll talk till he's blue in the face except about himself." "Why?" "Because there's a part of him he doesn't want people to see..at least not when it comes to me" "You mean when he's protective?. That's to be expected Lucy" he told her as she shook her head.

"It goes beyond that. What he didn't tell you Gray, was that yes, he beat the guy up, but it didn't stop there." Gray's face turned shocked as he listened. "Natsu beat the guy to a pulp and he would have kept going if I wouldn't have stopped him. The guy already had a beat-up face and broken nose and jaw. The parents tried to sue Natsu but Igneel stepped in and said Natsu was just trying to defend my life since their son had wished me dead." "Well good thing for him then" he said casually as Lucy's face was anything but as she said "if it wasn't for his father, Natsu could have ended up in juvy or worse. Luckily his father was respected by everyone for being a reasonable, kind person and believed him." "Lucy, he said after that you two got together" "We did, no one had ever defended me for anything like he did, and I loved him and wanted to be with him. So, after that we did" "Okay, what else happened?" "That's when I saw a different side of him, he wasn't violent or controlling so don't think that but whenever someone tried to insult or harm me, Natsu would get really angry in protecting me. As long as I was there, he would hold back, and I could rein in his temper but without me..." "He would go nuts right?" said Gray finishing her words as she nodded. "It's true we were inseparable, not just because we loved each other, but because I also kept his anger in check, it happened enough that it was like a different personality would come to the surface. An angry, protective one who would stop at nothing short of me stopping him from taking out the one opposing me. Whenever it wasn't happening, he was the most wonderful man I know. I have never met someone who loves me as much as he does. After my parent's death and I got into music, he did everything he could to support me. Helped me pay for singing lessons, and he bought me outfits. He's always done that." She smiled a happy, warm smile as she remembered.

"Did that personality ever come back out?" he asked. "There were times it presented itself, but It wasn't as bad as it was in high school. At most, he just got really angry and yelled at the guy but he didn't beat anybody up but that was also due to his own control. He didn't like how violent he got but he also wanted to make sure I was defended so after some..and don't repeat this to anyone. After a few anger management classes, he got it under control, and he's been fine since but now..." She cut herself off. "Lucy, why are you telling me this? He asked insistent and concerned as she got a downcast look on her face. "Because over these last few months, that control has been slipping away from him and it's only a matter of time and I need you to know for when Zeref comes after me" "Lucy" he said cutting her off. "He's not going to touc" she held her hand up silencing him. "Please don't Gray. With all this shit he is doing to torment me..I know he's going to come after me and you need to be there for Natsu when he does" she said quietly. "Lucy!, you aren't giving up are you?" he asked immediately. "No I'm not. I just know he's coming..and I won't be there to hold Natsu back. He's close to tipping over the edge and I need you to help him from hurting himself" "Lucy, if what your saying is true, what the hell can I do?" She looked at him dead serious in the face and said "keep everyone out of his way. He won't care who it is, he will run straight through them in order to find me because no one will stop once he turns" "Well that's good thing isn't it?" "Not if it's you guys, I'm telling you Gray, make sure he doesn't hurt himself but keep everyone out of his way…There's a name for his other personality." "What is it?" "E.N.D. Etherious Natsu Dragneel. We came up with it after school. Gray, please tell me you understand"

"Yes , I understand Lucy, but I hate that you're asking me to do this. I'm not saying I won't do it. You guys are family, just not liking where this is going" he said sadly. Standing up, she walked over in front of him and said "I know but please know there is no one I trust more to watch over Natsu because he is going to need you…even if he doesn't know it" He stood up and pulled Lucy into a hug as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders as she put her hands up his back. "You can be damn sure we will come after you" he said in a serious voice. "I know..there won't be a person who will be able to stop you guys with Natsu there" she said confident as they released the hug. "I love you, you know that right Lucy?" "Of course, I love you too" she answered softly. "Come on, we better get back up there. I'm afraid what Erza has going through her head if we stay here any longer" he said lightly as Lucy laughed some as she said "okay, lets go" .

He opened the door and up the stairs they went back up. "Everything good?" asked Jellal "Yup, all good" replied Gray who nodded towards Natsu who was getting frustrated. "Come on!, does anyone not have fucking anything?" he yelled. "Natsu, ease off a little, they are reaching out to whoever they can" said Erza as she went to put a hand on Natsu's shoulder as he gave a look that said not to touch him. Lucy and Gray stayed silent as they watched. "Now I see what she means. He's starting to crack" he thought. "Mommy" said Layla who had walked over to Lucy. "What is it baby?" she asked. "Can I have another book?" she asked. "Sure, just me go get some out of the car" she replied as she took a step towards the stairway when bullets came flying as Lucy pushed Layla to the floor covering her as Natsu dived for the stairs. "Lucy!, Layla, grab my hand quick" he yelled as they reached and he pulled them up into him as he hugged them to him covering them with his jacket as the bullets went flying. "EVERYONE FIND SHELTER!" Erza shouted as everyone panicked and tried to find a place to hide from the incoming bullet storm. Natsu and the others knew who it was without guessing. "Outside now!" he ordered as they made way for the doors dodging bullets. Still covering Lucy and Layla, Natsu stepped outside with the others as they saw Evelyn and Zeref standing there. "Here for a rematch because I can guarantee, your not getting out this time" snapped Natsu.

"No brother, I'm here for her" he said pointing to Lucy. "Your not laying a damn hand on her" Natsu said angrily putting her and Layla behind him. "EVERYONE ATTACK!" he shouted as Erza and the team with the mafia attacked. "Mommy!" Layla yelled scared as Lucy got to her knees and hugged her as Layla was shaking. "It's alright Layla. I'm right here" she said trying to comfort her while trying to keep her own fear down. Natsu stood ready for the defense but he couldn't believe it as he saw his team slowly get overrun. Zeref's people just kept coming like there was no end to them. "Natsu, how long are you going to keep this up, as you can see your team has been beaten. Just give her up." Natsu looked around and saw his team being held back by his guards as Natsu angrily said "over my dead body, you son of a bitch" In a split second, Zeref shot him right through the chest as Lucy and Layla screamed. "Fuck" Natsu mumbled as he fell to the ground unconscious. "Natsu!, Natsu!" Lucy yelled as Layla tried shaking him. "Grab them" Zeref ordered as Lucy's eyes and everyone's eyes widened. "Them!?" she yelled panicked as Zeref laughed and said "yes , I did say it was just you I was after. Not really. I'm after you both..Now grab them" he ordered coldly as guards picked up a flailing Lucy and Layla.

"NATSU!, DADDY!" they screamed as Lucy looked directly into Gray's eyes as he received the message loud and clear as if she had spoken the words herself. "Remember what I told you" "NO!" Erza shouted as they weak in body stood ready. "Erza, you have two choices. You can either try to save them or Natsu who is currently bleeding out. Your choice" he said with a sly grin as she stood there conflicted. "Erza!" Jellal shouted as Erza glared and said "your going to pay" "Hmm, I see your choice is made. Good let's go" said Zeref as Evelyn smiled and turned. "Erza!" yelled Jellal and Gray in unison. "What the hell have you done?" exclaimed Jellal. "I made a choice, now let's get him inside" she told them sternly as they helped her bring Natsu inside quickly as they worked quickly to try to save him. After carefully getting the bullet out, they wrapped the wound up and put his shirt back over it as they waited for him to wake up. "You have no idea what you have done. He is going to kill you when he wakes up" said Gray.

"At least he will be alive to hate me and to go after them" "Erza, you know Natsu would rather have died then to have Lucy and Layla taken. Who the fuck knows! What he has planned for them. What were you thinking? Demanded Jellal. "Natsu was dying, I was trying to save his damn life" she snapped at him as Gray was quiet. "Maybe so Erza, but you have no idea what you have unleashed doing that" he thought grimly as Natsu's eyes flashed open as he made a dash for the door. It was thunder and lightning with rain pouring down as the other three yelled behind him. "Where is she!, where's Layla!" he yelled as the three of them looked at him with frozen looks, their mouths stuck open. "WHERE ARE THEY!" he shouted. "There gone Natsu" said Jellal guiltily. Natsu dropped to his knees with his fists in front of him as he lifted his head and bellowed to the sky "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" as the rain soaked him from head to toe making his hair loose its spikiness and drop down. He pounded the ground as he cried out. Before Gray could stop him, Jellal called out "Natsu" as Natsu's hands started to shake and he turned on a dime to face them. He had a look in his eyes none of them had ever seen before scaring them. "E.N.D" thought Gray grimly as he looked at Natsu. **What did you think of the E.N.D reveal?**


	8. Chapter 8

No one will stop him. Lucy's words rang through Gray's head as he looked onwards towards him. " Who! Gave the order?" Natsu yelled as Erza without hesitating said " I did, I was trying to save your life" Breathing hard, he launched for her as Gray and Jellal grabbed his arms struggling to hold him back as Natsu raged like an wild animal. "Natsu!, get ahold of yourself" urged Jellal but Natsu wasn't listening as he fought hard to get to Erza. "YOU SHOULD HAVE LET ME DIE! LUCY IS GONE BECAUSE OF YOU!LAYLA! IM GOING TO KILL YOU!" he shouted. " What the hell has gotten into him" yelled Jellal over the rain as Natsu overpowered them causing them to let go as he ran straight for Erza and threw her inside alarming the members inside. Running inside Gray ordered "get the hell out of here now" They looked at him "Did I stutter, get your fucking asses out of here. NOW!" he said sharply "NO!, I DON'T FUCKING CARE! HOW LONG IT TAKES, EVERYONE GET OUT THERE AND FIND THEM!" ordered Natsu as they listened and got out as Jellal came in behind them as Gray held an arm out stopping Jellal from going over to Erza. "He's snapped! Natsu, what are you doing!?" he yelled scared for Erza as Natsu was towering over her growling intensely. "Natsu" said Gray calmly as Natsu turned his head where Gray could see the crazed look in his eye. "Lucy told me what happens without her here to keep your rage in check" "THEN YOU KNOW WHY SHE SHOULD BE HERE, NOT ME" "I know, but listen to me , hurting Erza is not going to save her or Layla. You need to calm down" "There is no calming, my wife and daughter are gone to that fucking psychopath and it's your fault" she said looking down at Erza as he wrenched his arm back and brought it forward. 

"NATSU!" Jellal screamed as his fist landed right next to Erza scaring her as she knew he wouldn't miss if he didn't want too. Kneeling above her, he looked at her with a cold expression and said, "if either of them die, I am going to kill you" They all gulped hearing no sympathy or reluctance in his voice to do just that to her. "E.N.D" said Gray getting Natsu's attention as he turned his head sharply. "That's who you are right now isn't it? asked Gray cautiously as he stood there calmly. "What about it?" Natsu asked aggressively. "It's who you become when Lucy is threatened." Stepping away from Erza, he walked over to Gray who stood his ground while Jellal ran over to Erza. "I do but why are you asking me about this?" "Because Lucy asked me to keep you from hurting yourself" he said flatly. "This is why she talked to you earlier isn't it? , she wanted to warn you about me" Gray nodded as Natsu angrily said "then I know she told you about me." "Yeah, she told me" "Then get the hell out of my way…unless you want me to move you myself" he said hostile as Gray took a step to the side letting Natsu through. Walking over with Erza laying her head on Jellal's shoulder, he said "what was that?" "That was Eitherous Natsu Dragneel and nobody can stop him" "What do we do?" asked Erza. Gray looked towards them and said "nothing, he's not just Natsu anymore. Getting in his way now will just get us killed. Nope the only thing to do is steer clear because the only thing he wants is death and to get his girls back." They nodded understanding as they took off with Gray to chase after Natsu and catch up with him.

Lucy opened her eyes to see herself chained to a wall. "What the hell?", she thought before she remembered everything. "The must have knocked me out" "Mommy" she heard as her eyes grew big as she looked down beside her to see Layla chained up beside her. "Layla!, baby are you okay?" she asked worried as Layla groggily said "yes mommy..wwhere are we?" "I don't know sweetheart" she answered as she looked around as Layla clung to Lucy's hip but she couldn't reach her due to her hands being chained out to their sides. "Damn it!" she thought angrily as she couldn't comfort her daughter. "You've woken up" she heard getting her attention as she saw Zeref standing there with a soft smile on his face as Lucy started trembling. "Gggget away from me!, stay away from my daughter" she yelled frantic as she struggled against the chains but they wouldn't budge as Zeref walked slowly over putting a hand towards Lucy's face as she attempted to bite his hand as it came closer. "Keep your hand off me you bastard" Evelyn came walking over as Lucy smirked and said "the whore and her bastard. Fitting for you two" Evelyn raised her hand and smacked her hard across the face. "Be quiet you penniless little slut." "Mom I got this" he assured her calmly as Evelyn had a very annoyed look on her face. "Did you bring it or did you just come over to antagonize her?" said Zeref as she handed him a syringe making Lucy tremble. "Wwwwwhatt the fffuck is that?" she asked. "Oh this, hmm, it's a numbing drug" he answered as he stuck right into her neck before she could react as he plunged the needle right into her. "Mommy!" Layla yelled. "Don't worry Layla, this won't hurt her" said Zeref soft spoken as he took the needle out and handed it back to Evelyn. "Unchain her for me, would you?" he asked Evelyn who gave him a confused look. 

"Just trust me, undo her chains" he told her as she did it and let Lucy's hands fall where she clung to Layla. He grabbed Lucy's shirt from the back and dragged her away from a crying out Layla as he slung her forward. "Get up" he ordered as she laid on the ground confused and scared as he said again "get up, run" Without questioning, she got back up and was about to go back to Layla when her leg's froze. "What!, why cant I?...why can't I move!" she yelled filled with panic as her and Layla locked eyes. Zeref laughed as he said "the numbing drug is quick to take effect. It numbs your whole body" he said quietly as he walked right up to her and touched her face whispering "and you can't say or do a thing, but you will feel everything. She wanted to scream at him until she couldn't get her mouth to move as her eyes filled with fear. Zeref laughed manically as he scooped her up into his arms bridal style and brought her to a platform and laid her on it. "Mother take Layla out of here; no child should see this. Least of all my niece" he said kindly as Evelyn undid Layla's chains and picked her up as Layla kicked and screamed as Lucy looked at her with pleading eyes not able to say anything as she heard Layla's cries until the door closed. "Look at me Lucy" he said softly as she looked at him. " Nobody to interfere this time" he said pleased as he cut her shirt and bra off exposing her upper body as he placed a hand on her stomach. "Ahh, I see my work healed up nice" he said as he traced his fingers around her stomach scars. "Wouldn't it be a wonder to open them up again…hmmm. Maybe later" he said as he rubbed her cheek. "You sick mother fucker, get your hand off me!" she yelled angrily inside her head begging her body to do something, but it wouldn't listen. A man came out that Lucy didn't recognize came and stood at the end of the platform. "Is this her? "Yes, Lucy this is my second in command. His name is Invel and he's going to help me today" " I don't care!, let me go!" she yelled in her thoughts as he got right next to her face and whispered "I have been waiting to do this again..Now I can make that drawing come to life. "What are you doing?" she thought suddenly scared as she saw Zeref cut away her pants and take off her boots throwing them somewhere.

Invel took his clothes off as Lucy screamed in her head "NO, NO NONONONO NATSUUUUUUUU" as Zeref nodded as Invel thrusted himself into her roughly and began thrusting rough and hard as she screamed in her head for him to stop as Invel enjoyed himself. He pounded her over and over again while Zeref watched until an hour passed and he took himself out of her for a moment as he was sweating. "Do you want me to stop?" Invel asked Zeref as Zeref said no. He took his hands and opened Lucy's mouth despite how much she tried to keep it shut. He planted his mouth over hers sticking his tongue all over her mouth as he closed his eyes. "Zeref, do you want me to leave u be?" Invel said amused. Releasing his mouth off hers , he cleared his throat and said "no, get back into position" he undid his pants letting his cock out as he stuck it right down Lucy's throat. All she wanted to do was close her mouth and bite it off but she couldn't as she felt herself wanting to scream again as Invel went back into her. Zeref lifted himself up and down in her mouth as another twenty minutes went by before they stopped and Zeref lifted himself out of her and told Invel he could go. "Now…how do you feel?" he teased as she felt her fingers start to move and with all her might screamed in pain and agony and called out "NATSUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" Tears flooded her face as she cried out for him as she moved with pain. 

"We aren't done yet Lucy" he said as he stuck a gag mask over her mouth as he flipped her onto her stomach , raising her back up,grabbing her hair hard as he inserted his cock into her from behind. She screamed as loud as she could, but nothing got through the gag as she fought as much as she could making Zeref enjoy it more as he pulled her hair. "Hahahaha yess, keep fighting, it makes this more enjoyable!" he yelled out as she finally collapsed from the pain as Zeref pulled himself out and zipped up his pants. She barely had the strength to stand let alone turn her head towards him as he came and walked over to where he could see her face that looked defeated. "I've missed that look. That look of utter helplessness. A tear came down as she started to cry. "Natsu, please…" she pleaded as Zeref grabbed her and tied her onto a metal cross without her fighting at all. "Mother , you can bring Layla back out now!" he called out as a door opened with a frantic Layla running until she stopped dead in her tracks in front of Lucy. "Mmmmmo..mmmm..mooommy!" she stuttered as Evelyn grabbed her and chained her back up. "Why?" said Lucy weakly. "Hmm, what was that?" asked Zeref. "Why..dddid you takkke Layla?" she asked "Well because she's my niece who should be raised in the right way" he replied simply as Layla glared at him. "Never!, I hate you!" she yelled angrily at them. "You big bas" she was cut off by Evelyn slapping her. "Hmph, not a language a child should be using" said Evelyn disgusted.

"Layla, we are going to teach you the right ways in being a civilized Dragneel and a tribute to this world" said Zeref as Lucy chuckled. " You're fools" she told them as they looked at her. Lucy lifted her head up and said "Layla isn't your niece nor your grandchild. She is my child. And you two are the dumbest pieces of shit I've ever met. "How dare you!" Evelyn snapped as Zeref was intrigued as Lucy grinned with a cocky smile. "Bravery all of a sudden, where did this come from?" "Because I have a daughter that needs me and I have my team coming after me" "Please, Natsu won't be able to do anything." "See that's where your wrong you mother fucker" she snapped insulting Zeref. "You have no idea what Natsu is capable of. I keep his anger under control. You've taken away his support. Do you know what that means?" They stared at her as Lucy quietly and confidently said "your all going to die. Natsu is going to kill you all and there's not a single person on this earth that can stop him" In a flash, Evelyn sliced right across Lucy's throat as it opened and blood started spurting out making Lucy's eyes go big as Layla shrieked in horror "MOMMMMMMMY!" as Lucy coughed and started gagging. "Now we'll see how confident you are and how Natsu will see you if you can't sing, you gutter trash" said Evelyn as Zeref walked quickly up with a towel covering her wound as the blood soaked it immediately. Sighing, Zeref lazily said "what did you do that for mom?. I didn't want to kill her. Least not for a while." "Oh hush, I didn't kill her" she assured him. "Just stopped her mouth and her damn singing. Now she can't ridicule you or teach Layla bad manners" she said with a wicked grin as Zeref rolled his eyes. "Get me a damn bandage" he snapped at her making her flinch. "What?" "I said get a damn bandage! She was mine to deal with, not for you to come in and fuck with" he said in a low voice as he snatched the wrap Evelyn had gotten and wrapped it quickly around her neck as Lucy trembled at him. "There you are Lucy. All safe an" "ZEREFFF!" he froze as he heard a rage in the voice like he had never heard. He turned slowly and saw him. "Natsu".


	9. Chapter 9

Erza , Jellal and Gray with the mafia behind them stood at the entrance. "How did you find us?" demanded Evelyn. "It wasn't easy, but somebody caught your tracks after it took some time. Somebody on your team fucked up" said Jellal with a grin. "That doesn't matter, Y" Natsu paused as he saw Layla frantically trying to get his attention. "Daddy!, mommy!" she yelled pointing as his eyes followed her finger. The rage that quelled inside him knew no bounds as he saw Lucy naked, tied to a cross and looking at him with a desperate pleading expression as Gray said, "everyone move!" "Don't leave anybody alive" said Natsu listened as they all moved clear out of Natsu's way as he led out a cry that was almost inhuman. "Natsu" Zeref said cocky as he zoomed up before Zeref could blink and tossed him a clear ten feet across the room. "IM EITHEROUS NATSU DRAGNEEL AND YOUR GOING TO PAAAAY!" he shouted as everyone scattered to the guards. "Should we help?" asked Jellal. "No" answered Gray firmly. "Stay the hell out of his way." He told everyone as they pulled out their guns. "YOU TORMENTED LUCY ENOUGH! YOU FUCKING PYSCHOPATH!" Natsu shouted angrily as he beat Zeref's face as Zeref managed to get a punch in and got a little ways before Natsu grabbed his foot sending him to the floor as Natsu dragged him across before he picked him up and threw him hard against the wall making him gasp and cough. "Kill me then" said Zeref. "Oh no no. you aren't getting that off easy. I've got my own plans for you" he said without remorse. Seeing an opening, Evelyn made a run for the door when she was tripped. "You aren't going anywhere you fucking bitch" Evelyn looked up at a outraged Erza as she wrenched up Evelyn by her arm. 

"Natsu" Erza called as he whipped his head around. "What do you want to do with her?" "Sho..no , tie that fucking whore up" he ordered as Erza dragged Evelyn despite her attempts to get free over to where she saw rope. He turned back towards Zeref and shot his knee bringing Zeref to the ground screaming in agony as he held his knee. Jellal and Gray covered in some blood not of their own and beat up came up to Natsu. "Watch him" he ordered coldly as they nodded and went to where Zeref was. Natsu raced over to Layla and ripped the chains off as the cuffs loosened letting Layla slip her hands out as she threw herself at Natsu. "Daddy!" she cried rubbing her head against him as he hugged her. "Are you hurt Layla?" he asked concerned. She rapidly shook her head as she instantly sat on her knees and pointed as she looked at Lucy. "Mommy!" she cried scared as Natsu went up quickly and untied the ropes as fast as he could when she collapsed to the ground. "Lucy!" he yelled going to her side and sitting her up. Erza, Jellal and Gray watched the anger melt away as she put her hands to his face. He saw the desperation in her eyes as she tried to say something but Natsu quickly said "don't, don't try to talk Lucy. God I am so sorry baby" said tenderly as he took off his trench coat and threw it over her shoulders as she put her arms into it. She grimaced as she moved. She fell into his chest as she cried into it. He could do nothing else as he put his arms around her as he gently reached down and pulled the jacket away where he could see some bleeding and bruising.

"Did he …?" he asked trying very hard to keep his rage down as she sadly nodded her head as she raised her shaky hand towards Invel who a mafia member had caught trying to get away. "Fucking bitch" was all he said before a bullet his brain as Natsu fired his gun and set it back down stunning everyone. "You two, grab Zeref and start walking towards the door. Lucy, we need to get you out of here" he said gently as he helped her stand up slowly. He started walking them slowly as Lucy stopped dead staring at Evelyn and Erza. "Lucy?" Natsu said noticing she stopped then looked where she was staring. "What do you want to do?" he asked darkly getting what she was feeling as she took the gun out of his pants holster and aimed it towards Evelyn as Natsu signaled Erza to move. She gradually stepped away not wanting to go far incase Evelyn tried to run. Her clothes tattered, she glared at Lucy. "Do what you will you dumb slut. You were never worthy of" Lucy fired hitting Evelyn's shoulder as she cried in pain grabbing at it as she knelt to the floor. With Natsu walking with her, they silently approached her as Natsu held no sympathy for her at all as Lucy raised the gun to her head. " Go to hell" he said as Lucy fired right through her head as Evelyn hit the floor dead.

"MOTHER!" Zeref screamed as the guys dragged him out the door kicking and screaming. Erza walked behind them as Layla walked with Natsu and Lucy who was slowly walking as she stumbled but Natsu caught her before she hit the ground. "Easy Lucy. Don't push yourself" he said kindly as they walked out leaving Evelyn and other bodies behind. They walked a few minutes until they got to the cars but all that was left was Erza's and Natsu's. "Come on Luce, let's get you to the hospital. Come on baby dragon , get in here" he told them as Lucy climbed into the back with Layla snuggled up against her as Natsu lightly shut the door. "Erza, your with me , Jellal and Gray. Take him to the safehouse. I'll meet you there in a bit" he told them blunt as they all said "yes sir" and got into the cars. Lucy was silent during the ride back worrying Natsu as he glanced through the mirror every so often to look at her. "Daddy are we going home?" she asked. "Not yet baby girl. We need to check on mommy first" he explained as they got to the hospital and checked Lucy into a room. Erza went and found Wendy while Natsu and Layla were sitting on the bed with Lucy. "What the hell happened to her?" Wendy said concerned. "That bastard got a hold of her.. Don't worry after tonight, he's not going to be alive" he said insensitive as Wendy carefully touched the bandage where her throat was cut as Lucy flinched grabbing at it shaking her head. "Lucy, Lucy relax . I promise I'm not going to hurt you" urged Wendy tenderly. "Lucy, baby she needs to make sure your alright" said Natsu as Lucy relaxed. Getting up off the bed, he said "Erza, stay here. I don't trust a damn person outside this room." He ordered as she nodded. "Layla, I need you to stay here with mommy and Erza." He said as she pulled at his hand causing him to turn around. "I'll be back baby girl. I promise" he said lovingly as she let go and he bent down kissing her on her forehead. "I've just got some business to take care of then I'll be back okay?" She nodded as he whispered, "I love you." "I love you too daddy" she replied as she snuggled back into Lucy who put a hand over her shoulder. "Where are you going?" Erza asked him as Natsu gave her a hard stare and said " to deal with something unpleasant" then he left leaving Erza and the girls there wondering what he was doing.

He drove to the far out reaches of town well beyond any civilization where he drove to what looked like a worn-out shack. He went inside and down a long flight of stairs till he reached the bottom where Jellal and Gray were standing next to a door. "Hey, how is she doing?" asked Gray. "She's not. Has everything been set up?" "Yes but what are you going to do?" Jellal asked as he turned towards them with a emotionless face and said "I'm going to make her nightmares go away" "Do you want us to stay?" Gray asked nervously. "No. go to the hospital. Lucy needs all the support she can get. I will join you when I'm done" he said as he opened the door and shut the door as they saw the slightest bit of his face that terrified them. "Umm, so do we stay here?" asked Jellal completely confused as Gray says snapping him out of confusion "hell no. The less we know , the better besides I don't want to hear the screaming" said Gray as they walked out. In the room, Zeref was strapped down to a metal table with his arms and legs tied down to it as Natsu went over to a side table where there was a cloth tied together and as he untied it, there were knives of all different shapes and sizes, bolt cutters. There were jumper cables nearby along with matches and gasoline cans. "I thought you were going to kill me?" said Zeref as Natsu pulled out a long knife as he turned towards Zeref with an evil grin on his face and said "Oh I am but your going to be in pain long before you die" as he sliced Zeref's leg making him cry out. "I am going to make you feel every bit of pain you put her through, and I don't care how long it takes. You are going to experience a living hell you sick son of a bitch" he made another long cut down Zeref's leg as Zeref cried out trying to reach but his hands were bound tight. "You say you aren't like our mother, but this shows you are just like her" Angrily he sliced Zeref hard across the stomach as he screamed. "I am nothing like that cunt. That woman never had a heart or anything even close to a soul. I am doing this for the woman I love because the both of you destroyed her!" he yelled stabbing Zeref through his left leg as he didn't care for the screams Zeref made. "That's nothing compared to what you put her through" he thought as he switched out the long blade for a shorter one as he made a cut along Zeref's side to where it bled but wasn't life threatening. He made small shallow cuts all along Zeref's body including his cheeks as he made it all the way down to his feet. He stopped putting the knife down as Zeref looked to try to see what Natsu was grabbing next but couldn't see what he was holding. Natsu turned back towards him as Zeref's eyes widened as he saw the bolt cutters. "Have I made yah nervous yet?" he said maliciously as he walked towards him grabbing one of his hands as Zeref tried ripping it away. 

But Natsu was not letting go as he slipped the bolt cutters around one of fingers and pressed hard cutting the bottom of it off as Zeref shrieked in pure agony. "I'M NOT EVEN CLOSE TO BEING DONE YET YOU SORRY EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN" Natsu shouted as he went for another hour before putting the bolt cutters up. His phone went off as he stopped as Zeref was sweating and crying out. He stepped out of the room as he answered it. "What's up Jellal?" "Lucy is asleep, looks like the pain meds she gave might knock her out for a day or so" "Good. Give her time to rest" Natsu said relieved. "Do you think you'll make it back here? Layla might wonder where you are" Jellal asked curious. Looking back towards the door, he said "no I don't think that's going to happen today. I still have work to do. Just tell her daddy will be home soon as he's done" "Okay well I'll let you go and keep an eye on the girls." "Thanks" "Oh and Natsu," "What?" "Make that dirt bag pay" Jellal said bitterly as Natsu replied "he is" then hung up as he went back into the room.

Two days passed before Gray said "has anyone heard from Natsu at all?" "No, the last I heard from him was yesterday morning asking how Lucy and Layla were doing and then he said he would be in touch" explained Erza. "I would have thought he would have been done by now" said Jellal. "hmm, not sure about that" said Gray. "That bastard put Lucy through hell and did it multiple times. If Natsu is taking his time, I'm not surprised it's taking this long." "I didn't think Natsu was even capable of going that far" said Erza. "Unfortunately, it's not too surprising once you know what I know" Gray told them as he added "they will tell you eventually. It is not my place to tell you anything" Jellal and Erza looked at each other with slight concerned faces as they looked over at Lucy and Layla as Layla was napping next to Lucy. "Don't worry guys. Natsu will be back" assured Gray. "Yeah but will he still be himself?" questioned Jellal. "Jellal, don't start questioning him now. The only reason he is doing this is because of the hell Zeref put Lucy through. He isn't a cold-blooded murderer or psychopath. He is getting revenge for his family. Hell Erza, your lucky neither of them are dead or did you forget?" She shivered slightly as she said "of course not. And as I told him, I made the choice to save his life. If he had killed me because of the girls then I would have accepted it but that does not explain why he is acting like this" Smacking his head, Gray gave her a frustrated look. "You were there! When he told us to go to the safe house. What the fuck else did you think he was going to do?!" "I..I'm not sure. I knew he was going to kill Zeref. I assumed that much. I did not expect him to be gone for two more days" "Ahh, alright look this is not the time for this. The simple fact of the matter is Natsu is making Zeref pay, that's all there is to it. We need to stay here and make sure Layla and Lucy are safe until he gets back" Gray said bluntly irritated. "Your right" agreed Jellal as they both looked at Erza who crossed her arms and gave them an unapproving stare but nodded her head understanding. She would protect the girls no matter what.

Walking into the room after a couple hours of letting Zeref's wounds settle, Natsu just glared at him. Over the span of the two days Zeref was cut in every part of his body .The only part of him that wasn't cut were the bottoms of his feet. He was missing a couple fingers off each hand and just looked defeated and pitiful but Natsu felt absolutely nothing. "Wwwwhhhere did you lllearn to do thissss?" Zeref asked very weakly . Having his back turned towards him, Natsu answered "my father" "Ig…Ignnnneel? …he wasn't the type" "Hmmphh" said Natsu amused as he chuckled and shook his head. "My father had a side nobody ever saw except me. Not even Lucy knows about this side of me nor does she ever need too. My father taught me how to use these incase I ever needed to go to extremes to protect Lucy. Evelyn had no clue just how lucky she was. Aside from being a mafia top boss, he could have easily sliced her throat or half the things I'm doing to you now. He was very good at hiding it." Zeref's eyes widened in shock and fear as Natsu had a grin on his face. Zeref began to pass out as Natsu shook him. "Oh no,no. You aren't done yet Zeref." "Ppplease" "No" he answered coldly. "Lucy begged you and you never once showed her mercy. I'm not going to either. "Just let me die" "NO!" he shouted at him as he grabbed the long knife slicing his right leg and stabbing him through it. He screamed as Natsu just stood there angry. " you beg for mercy? not a chance you fucker. You didn't spare my wife any pain so I'm not going to on you" he thought. "Jeeze, how many days have gone by since I've even been in here" he said out loud as he pulled his phone out and turned it on. "Damn, two days. Then that would make this day number three." He said quietly to himself as he turned and grabbed the jumper cables. "Alright, I'm done fucking around" he said seriously as Zeref gave him a completely shocked face. "He's been playing this whole time?" Zeref thought panicked as he saw Natsu with the jumper cables attaching two of them to the metal table as he filled a bucket with water and dumped it all over the table making Zeref jump. "No, no. " he begged as Natsu gave him a glowering expression as he picked up the two ends of the cables. "NnnoAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" he shrieked as the electricity went shooting through his body as Natsu stood there holding them together for another twenty seconds as he separated them. Zeref gasped as he twitched from the pain going through his body. He could barely move anymore or talk as he painfully moved his head to the side to see what Natsu was going. He managed to choke out "ww…..wha…mmore…are …g…doo? "Me?, nothing. After this. I'm going home and telling Lucy she doesn't have to worry about you anymore you son of a bitch" he replied callous as Natsu grabbed the gasoline cans and poured them all over the room and onto the table as Zeref looked at him puzzled. "Ha, my nick name's Pyro for a reason." He said darkly amused as he tossed the can aside and walked over to Zeref getting down to his face. "Go join your whore of a mother" he said quietly but ruthless as he walked to the exit. "NO, NO!" Zeref screamed with all his might as he fought hard against his ropes as Natsu coldly lit a match and threw it onto the table as the flames lit up around Zeref as he kicked as hard as he could to get the flames out, but it was useless.

Natsu stood there as the flames went up and around Zeref as his agonizing screams as he stared with horror at Natsu who had a expressionless face as he turned to leave. "NA..TSUUUUU..NA..AHHHHHHHHHH" he heard as he walked up the stairs taking his time but picked up his pace when he saw smoke. Running up the rest, he dove for his car as the safehouse went up in flames. "Rot in hell" he said as he got into his car and went back to his house to change and shower.


	10. Chapter 10

Getting the smell of the last few days off him and Zeref's stench, he changed into fresh jeans and a t- shirt as he grabbed his shoes and got back into the car. "I'm coming Lucy" he thought as he drove to the hospital. Once he got there, he saw Gray standing outside the room. "Everything finished?" Gray asked. "He won't hurt her ever again" he answered seriously. " Good" "Is she awake yet?" he asked worried as Gray opened the door to see Erza and Jellal. "DADDY!" Layla screamed happily as Natsu dropped to his knees and smiled as Layla ran over and jumped throwing her arms around his neck as he buried his face into hair. "Hi baby girl" he said lovingly. "Where did you go?, you said you be right back" she asked wanting to know. "Sorry, my business took a little longer then I thought but I promise I'm not going anywhere now." "You promise?" she asked hopeful as he smiled and said softly "yes Layla, I promise" she got a big smile on her face as she hugged him more. After a minute more, Layla let him up as he stood back up on his feet as she held his hand. "How is she?" Natsu asked them looking at Lucy. "She's seemed fine" answered Erza as if on que, Lucy coughed. Getting Natsu's attention, he walked over and grabbed her hand as she rubbed her eyes with her other hand and slowly opened her eyes seeing nothing but fuzziness.

"Lucy" she heard a tender voice as Natsu's face came into focus. She happily opened her mouth to say his name when he stopped her quickly. "Easy Luce, you've been on meds for the last couple days." He said caringly as she held her arms out as he wrapped his arms around her. "He's gone" he whispered as she suddenly unhooked her arms from him and looked him straight in the face as he had a warm smile. "He's gone baby. He will never hurt you again" She felt tears coming on fast as she silently cried as Natsu put his forehead against hers as she put her hands to his cheeks. "I love you too Luce" "Mommy" Layla said happily as Natsu put her up on the bed as Layla hugged Lucy's stomach as Lucy lovingly smiled at her. "Has there been any word on your throat?" he asked as she shook her head. "I'll go find Wendy" said Gray as he left as Natsu jumped onto the bed as Lucy laid her head against him as he put an arm around her. "Are you in any pain Lucy?" Erza asked sensitively as Lucy shook her head. "I'm glad" she answered with a small smile. Grabbing Natsu's phone, they were confused as they saw her typing then they all laughed as she held the phone out showing them the message she wrote. When do we get to go home? Natsu chuckled as he looked at Lucy and said "we gotta make sure your good first you weirdo." He said rubbing his fist lightly on her head as she quietly laughed and blushed. Taking the phone back, she erased the message and wrote another as Natsu just shook his head. "You wake up from sleeping for two days and the first thing you ask is if I've eaten alright..that is so you" he said amused. She shrugged her shoulders as the others nodded in agreement with Natsu. "Hey,hey " greeted Wendy sweetly as she came in with Gray.

"Hey Wendy!" greeted Natsu nicely. "Glad to see your finally back. The others said you had business to take care of." She replied. "Yup but I'm here and ready to take the girls home." "I can see that" she said with a smile as it quickly turned into a face of confliction shocking everyone. "Wendy?" questioned Erza. "What's wrong?" asked Natsu immediately. "Lucy, as best as you can, try to say something" she said soft with kindness. "What's going on?" asked Natsu more insistent. "I took some x-rays…the results. She stared then stopped as Natsu looked at his team as they got the message. "we'll go" said Jellal as he walked out with Erza and Gray and shut the door. "Wendy, what is the problem?" he said serious. "First , I need to see if she can say anything…Lucy, try honey" Clearing her throat as softly as she could without hurting her throat, It came out croaky at first as she said "Nn.. .Natsu" she finished a little more strong as Wendy sighed with some relief but not much as she had a look of guilt on her face. "Wendy , your starting to really worry me. What is wrong?" said Natsu as he with Lucy and Layla all looked at her with scared faces. "I am very sorry to say this guys…but with how deep the cut was, Lucy will eventually be able to talk ..but she will never be able to sing again. If she even tries to go into a high note, she will cause irreparable damage to her throat" she said emotional as she looked at their blank faces. "Guys…I am sorry" she apologized as Natsu sternly but not meanly said "leave Wendy. Please" she looked at Lucy's broken expression as Layla looked into Lucy's eyes with sadness holding her hand.

She quickly nodded her head as she got out and shut the door. Natsu's hands balled into fists as he paced quickly. "It wasn't enough..It wasn't enough he took everything from her…" he said in a low growl as he walked over to a wall and pounded his fist into it. "NOOOOOOO. DAMN IT!" he screamed angrily as Lucy sobbed as the others came running. "What happened!" Gray asked seeing Lucy. "That bastard…he took Lucy's singing from her!" Natsu yelled as they looked at her heartbroken. "Lucy.." said Gray and Jellal. They had met her through her singing, sang and played music with her. They had gotten to join the most famous record label in Magnolia ,Fairy Tail. Now that was all gone in the blink of an eye for her and there was nothing they could do. Natsu leaned his head down as he breathed very slowly trying to rein his anger he felt. He knew this was not the place nor was it anyone's fault this happened so he breathed until he felt control as he silently stood straight up and walked over to Lucy picking her up off the bed and holding her In his arms as they slowly sank to the floor as she clawed at his shirt in crying sadness and anger. He closed his eyes letting her cry as she laid her head on his knee as she gripped his pants hard.

"I'm sorry baby" he said quietly as Layla tiptoed over and laid herself next to Lucy to comfort her. Erza, Jellal ,Gray not touching her all got around her and Natsu in a circle as they all closed their eyes for a moment then reopened them but said nothing. After hours, Natsu reluctantly knowing she didn't want to hear it but said it anyway very caringly " Lucy..we need to get you out of here baby. It's time to take you home" He could see in her eyes she didn't care about going anywhere as he took her into his arms and lifted her bridal style as she rested her head against him as they all quietly walked out with him. "I'll drive you guys home" said Gray before Natsu had a chance to argue and protest. Instead he just nodded his head and said "thanks Gray". He smirked as he got into the front seat as Natsu with Lucy in his arms got into the back and Layla got into her car seat and buckled herself as Natsu winked at her for not making a fuss at all. "See you guys later" he muttered to Jellal and Erza understanding the mumble as they sympathetically waved goodbye. He cradled Lucy as they drove home. Layla reached over as far as she could and touched Lucy's stomach as Natsu smiled an understanding smile at her knowing what she was trying to do but Lucy didn't react except to bury her face further into Natsu as Natsu opened and closed his mouth at her not even reacting to Layla when surprising him, Lucy reached her hand and closed it around Layla's fingers. He let out a small thankful breath as he watched a very small smile on Lucy's face form. "You'll get through this Lucy; I'll be right here" thought Natsu. Getting them home, Natsu carried Lucy in before she pulled at him to stop as he let her down. She grabbed the stair railing and walked depressingly up as Natsu and Gray watched her. "Is she going to be alright?" asked Gray very worried. He looked over at Natsu who was still looking up the stairs. "I honestly don't know Gray..and that's what scares me" he confessed as Layla grabbed at his sleeve. "What is it Layla?" he said softly.

"I'm sleepy daddy." Picking her up, he said "alright let's get you into bed. Gray, do you want me to give you a lift home?" "Nahh, I can walk , it's not too far." He answered as Natsu just shook his head and motioned upstairs. "Come on, there's a room upstairs. Your not gonna walk home at night." "I appreciate it" thanked Gray as Natsu gave him a thumbs up and walked up to Layla's room. Tucking her in, he sat on the side of the bed as Layla looked at him. "Daddy?" "What is it baby girl?" " Is mommy going to be sad forever?" " No sweetheart, mommy is..she's just hurting right now" he said trying to be as honest as he could without diving too much into it. "I'll help" He smiled a soft smile as he said " that's not for you to worry about. Just leave it to me okay?" she nodded as she turned on her side as Natsu kissed her head. "Goodnight baby dragon" he said as she gripped her happy cat tightly. He turned off her light and went to their room as Lucy didn't move an inch or made any notion, she heard him come in. "Lucy" he thought sadly as he took off his clothes and got in with her.

The next day was a gravely silent one as Lucy didn't say anything at all or even get out of the bed. That afternoon, he was sitting on the couch watching Layla play and talking with Gray. "She hasn't come down at all has she?" Gray surmised. "No, not at all." "I think she just needs time. She'll bounce back Natsu" said Gray optimistically. Sighing , he looked at Gray with a disappointed look in his eyes. "Woah Natsu, what's with that look?" "Because this isn't something, she will be able to just get over. I promised her she could sing once all this shit was done. Now it's gone." He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Natsu, you just need to be there for her." "I'll always be here; the point is I can't help! This time" he said frustrated as Layla looked up at him. Realizing he was letting his emotions get the better of him, he said, "it's alright Layla, go back to playing" She smiled an innocent smile and went back to her toys as he let out a breath. "I'm your friend Natsu. I'll be here for you if you need be" "Thanks man" he said grateful. "I'm gonna get going. I'm sure Juvia is wondering where I am right now" said Gray.

"Alright, take it easy man." Said Natsu as Gray fist bumped Natsu and waved goodbye to Layla as she happily waved back. The house was quiet again as Natsu looked at the stairs. " I should go check on her" he thought as he got up. "Stay here Layla" he said as he walked up the stairs quietly as he could. "Lucy?" he whispered walking in. He walked over to her side as he saw her awake. Kneeling down he put a hand on her shoulder. "Lucy...I think you should get up baby" he suggested lightly as her eyes looked up at him. "Say something Luce..please" Her eyes looked down as he nudged her. "Luce..you gotta start trying to talk again" "W.. ?" she said croaky stumbling over her letters. "Because you need to try to start healing Luce. The only way to do that is by starting to talk." She sat up which surprised him. He didn't think she would listen that easily to him. Putting his hands on her knees, he said "come on, let's go downstairs. I'll make you some tea and you can sit on the couch. I know Layla will be happy to see you" She nodded but gave no emotion as she stood up as Natsu put an arm around her shoulder walking out with her until they got to the stairs and he let her go first.


	11. Chapter 11

"Mommy!" Layla yelled happily as she quickly walked over as Lucy gave a slight smile to her as she squatted down and gave Layla a hug. "H..hi …bb..babby" she greeted as Layla clapped. "You talked! Mommy!" she squeaked excited jumping in place clapping her hands. Natsu could see that though she was smiling, the smile didn't reach her eyes for there was nothing there, no light, no fire, just empty. " Luce" he thought sadly as he watched Layla happy as she could be grab Lucy's hand pulling her hard to the couch. "Oh tea" said Natsu reminding himself as he went into the kitchen and turned on the teapot turning his back to watch Layla trying to get Lucy to play with her. "Mommy, come on" she begged as Natsu watched her face get impatient and upset as Natsu quickly stepped in. "Hhhey sweetheart, let's go easy on mommy okay?. He said hoping like hell she would get what he was trying to say. "Just wanted mommy to play" "I know baby girl, she's just tired and getting her voice back" he stopped as the teapot went off as he turned and took it off the stove pouring it into a mug. Waiting a couple minutes , he blew on it and then walked slowly over putting it down on the table as Lucy cupped her hands around it and took a sip of it. "T…thank yy..ou" she said quietly as he replied "your welcome Luce" "What..do I..do ..now?" Taking a seat next to her, he grabbed her hand and entangled his fingers into hers. "we will find something Luce. I promise" Looking down further, she said "you..can't ..ppromise that" "You have a job at the mafia Lucy. You don't have to worry about it" he said remembering. She shook her head as she took another sip of her tea. "that's gggreat..for money Natsu but..what do I do nn.." he saw the tears starting to come down her eyes as she gripped her tea mug hard. "Mmmmy dddream iss dead" she cried putting the mug down and running off towards the stairs. "Mommy!" Layla yelled as she attempted to go after her but Natsu grabbed her arm stopping her. 

She turned confused as Natsu shook his head. "No Layla..mommy needs to be alone" he said unhappily. "Aww but daddy, I wanna help mommy" Silently, he took her hand and walked her back to the couch where he sat her on his lap bringing her to lay against his chest. "I know baby but unfortunately we can't help her right now" He laid his head looking up at the ceiling as he let out a breath. "What am I supposed to do? She doesn't even want support right now" he thought to himself. "Come on Layla" he said suddenly as he set onto the floor. "Where are we going daddy?" "To aunt Erza's gym. Daddy needs to let off some steam" he said as he took her to get her shoes on. "What about mommy?" she asked as she got on her boots and grabbed Happy with her backpack. "We are going to give mommy some space, come on Layla" he told her as they went outside, and he locked up the house. Getting her into her car seat, he got into his seat and took off for the gym. "Natsu? surprised to see you here. And with Layla? Said Erza surprised. "Lucy needed some time..and I needed to punch something. Layla, sweetheart, go sit down okay?" he said sweetly to her as she nodded and went to sit in a corner hugging Happy. Slipping gloves over his hands, he began to punch hard at the bag as he started moving around it and punching from side to side. 

Erza and Jellal didn't pay attention until he started breathing harder and harder getting their attention. "Natsu?" questioned Jellal as he carefully walked over to Natsu but avoided where he was hitting. "What!" he snapped sweating and punching. "What's wrong?" "What ever told you that?" said Natsu as he punched directly into the middle of the bag. "Gee, could it be your heavy breathing, your attitude, hmm, not really sure" Jellal snapped back. He brought his hand up as Natsu went to take a swing and grabbed his fist before he could hit. Holding it, Jellal said softer "Natsu, what's wrong?" Panting, he took his hand out of Jellal and put them on his knees. "It's Lucy." "What happened?" said Jellal and Erza alarmed but Natsu waved his hand to them. "Nothing like what you're thinking" They sighed a breath of relief then Erza said "what's wrong then?" "She seems completely broken. Hell she barely hugged Layla." "Natsu, you can't expect her to be alright within just a night. Not after what happened" said Jellal reasonably. " I know that…just wanted her to open up and she's completely shut down." "You know her better then anyone Natsu. You know she will open up to you when she's ready" assured Erza. "Thanks Erza" "No problem, we'll let you get back to working out. Come on Jellal" she said as her and Jellal walked away as Natsu started lifting some weights. While he was working on, Erza went and bought lunch and had gotten something for Layla as she said thank you and started eating. Natsu gave her a thankful expression as he kept going. After another hour, he was sweating all over his body as his legs felt like jelly as he took a seat next to Layla rubbing her head. "Ewww, daddy. Your all gross" she complained taking his hand off her head as he chuckled. Throwing Natsu a towel, Erza stood nearby. " I appreciate you getting her food" said Natsu as he wiped the sweat dripping down his face off with the towel. "It was no trouble at all" she replied kindly.

"Well I suppose I better get a shower" he said as he went and grabbed the bag of spare clothes he kept at the gym for when he came and headed for the showers. Lucy's singing voice went through his mind as the water hit his body. "Damn..but if I miss it..it's nothing compared to what she is feeling I'm sure." He thought. After a little while, he finished and came back out seeing Layla coloring. "Hey Layla, wanna go to the park baby girl?" he asked encouraging as she jumped to her feet like he thought she would. "Yes!, let's go" she replied excited as he looked over at Jellal and Erza. "You guys wanna come?" "Sure" they replied. "well let's go" he said as Layla ran to the car and waited as Erza said "we'll meet you there" then got into her car. " Daddy, daddy daddy!" Layla repeated ecstatic jumping in place as Natsu laughed unlocking the door as she hopped into the car and immediately got into her seat as Natsu buckled her in. "Just wish mommy was with us" she said in slightly sad tone. "Don't worry baby girl, she'll come next time" he lied with a smile on his face as she grinned at him as he shut the door and got into his seat. He sat there for a moment putting his hands on the wheel as he looked up at Layla in the mirror who was giggling in her seat squeezing Happy. "You've got enough happiness for us all Layla" he thought with a warm smile as he started the car. "Alright, you ready?" he said excited. "YES! FAST DADDY!" she screamed with delight as his foot hit the gas and off, they went with her screaming for joy. It didn't take them long to get to the park with how fast he was going. Layla couldn't get out of the car fast enough as she ran for Jellal and Erza as Jellal picked her up off the ground and swung her in a circle putting her feet back on the ground. "Again, again!" said Layla as she looked at Natsu for permission as he nodded. She grabbed Jellal's hand and took off running with him before he picked her up and began spinning her in the air. Erza and Natsu slowly walked behind them. "So what made you think of the park Natsu..?" she asked warily. " I wasn't ready to take Layla back to a quiet house yet so I thought why not the park" "Your hurting too aren't you?" she said sadly. 

"I'm fine" he replied as he walked just a little bit faster as Erza looked at him with a sullen look. "you liar. This isn't just hurting Lucy. It's hurting you too. But like usual, your going to bury it and help Lucy instead…You are too perfect" she thought to herself slightly amused as she started walking again. "Alright Layla, give your uncle a break" urged Natsu as Layla laughed but nodded her head and went running to Natsu while Jellal looked like he was going to fall over dizzy. He went to take a step back and stumbled when Natsu caught his back before he could fall. "Woah their man, ha. My little girl did a number on you huh?" he said amused "Yeah no kidding" answered Jellal lightly. "What now, what now!" asked Layla eagerly. "Slow down there little one, tell you what, you can run but don't go where I can't see you" "Really!" He nodded his head as he held his hand out in front of him as she took off like a shot yelling happily as the adults chuckled watching her. They walked around for another couple hours until Natsu said "alright Layla, time to go home baby girl" he said as she agreed and went to give Jellal and Erza a hug then ran to Natsu who picked her up and held her. "So fun day today then?" he asked happily as she rapidly nodded her head. " it was so much fun!" she answered overjoyed. "I'm glad. Let's go home and check on mommy huh?" he asked. "Let's go daddy!" she agreed as they got into the car and went back to the house. Once they got back, he saw Lucy's car wasn't there. "hmm, well least this means she left the house" he said quietly to himself as he got himself and Layla out.

"Where did mommy go?" she asked curious as they got into the house. "I'm not sure baby girl but she'll be back soon. I'm sure" he replied. "So spaghetti for dinner? ,with all that running around, I'm sure your hungry" he raised his eyebrows as he heard her stomach growl as she quickly put her hands to her stomach making him laugh. "That answers that" he said as she went and sat at the counter with Happy as he grabbed stuff for spaghetti and started prepping for it. After cutting up sausage for the sauce, he dumped it and started the water for the spaghetti as Layla clapped at watching him. He just shook his head in enjoyment. "The simplest things ,even just watching me cook make her the happiest kid" he though. After he stuck the spaghetti in the water, they waited ten minutes then he drained it and got out two plates. "Layla, grab the cheese kiddo" he said as she hopped off her seat and ran to the fridge pulling out the parmesan cheese and putting it on the counter getting back into her seat as Natsu put a plate of spaghetti in front of each of them. He came to sit next to her as she went crazy with the cheese until seeing she had enough, Natsu took it away. "Save some for me would you" he joked as he shook some cheese onto his plate.

Lucy came in a few minutes later as they were eating. "Hey Luce" Natsu said with a mouthful of noodles. Swallowing and clearing his throat, he said "there's spaghetti if you want some" Looking over at them, she said quietly "thank you" as she came over and grabbed a plate and put some on it. Natsu saw it wasn't much but he kept quiet. "Long as she's eating something and not starving herself" Layla smiled happily at Lucy as she acknowledged it but couldn't bring herself to smile back. "So where did you go Luce?" he asked curious. "I..went..out" she answered sounding a little more clear and less croaky. "Lucy! your voice sounds a lot better" Natsu said positively. "Hmph, thanks" she said quietly as she finished her plate and put in the sink. Giving Layla a kiss on her head, she walked but not before Natsu grabbed her hand and swung her back around landing a deep kiss on her as she grabbed his shirt giving in for a moment but released from it another minute later. "I love you" he said passionately. "I love you too" she replied but it was distant as she let go of him and walked towards the back. "Daddy, all okay?" Layla asked seeing the whole thing. "Everything is fine Layla. Finish your dinner sweetheart" he said nicely as she went back to her plate. Once she finished, he put everything away and cleaned up then sat on the couch with Layla as she snuggled right into him as he wrapped a blanket around them as he put on a kid's movie for them to watch. After it was over, he got up as she laid her head on a pillow and covered with blanket. " Bedtime in a little bit alright?" he asked as she sleepily nodded her head. "Going to check on Lucy first" he thought as he headed towards the back where the pool room was. Knocking on the door, he didn't hear an answer. Cautiously he opened the door. "Lu-" he cut himself off as he looked at the floor eyes opening wide. He saw beer bottles spread around the floor as he looked up at Lucy who was drinking. "Lucy!, what the hell are you doing?. Do you know what this shit will do to your throat?" he yelled over at her as she stopped drinking and just gave a him a uncaring look. "Lucy, you know what this does to you!" he said trying to get through to her as he dodged an incoming bottle as it hit the wall and smashed into pieces. He looked back at the puddle and then back at her in shock. "I don't care!, who care's if my throat get's more fucked up. It's not like I can ever sing again anyway. Who needs to talk. I'll spend the rest of my life as a fucking mute!" Holding his hands out, he said in a calm voice "Luce, your drunk. Your not thinking clear" "Oh yes I am! I am thinking very clearly Natsu" she said angrily. "Luce, I need to go put Layla to bed. You need to stop this" NO" she screamed as she grabbed another bottle and started chugging as he was hard pressed to snag it out of her hand but he quickly before he could change his mind ran out of the room and went to grab Layla trying to stay as calm as he could. "Lay, Layla. Time for bed baby girl" he said quietly as she raised her arms up. He grabbed her and brought up the stairs quick as he could without going fast enough to draw attention.

He set her down as she grabbed her blanket and snuggled with Happy. "I love you daddy" she said sweetly. "I love you too baby girl" he answered kissing her on the cheek as he gave her a smile and turned off her light. Once he was past her room, he raced to the pool room as Lucy sat there. "Alright, that's enough" he said sternly as he walked over and yanked the bottle out of her hands. "Natsu!" she yelled as he threw the bottle away from her. "Your done" he said firmly as she gave a defiant face. "No!, give it back you fucking bastard" she insulted angrily. "What the hell are you doing this for, You have never done this Luce." "My dream is dead Natsu!, my passion is gone. I can never sing again." "SO WHAT!, YOUR GOING TO DRINK YOURSELF TO DEATH!" he shouted "YOU COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE, GIVE ME BACK MY BEER" she screamed at him as she went to walk past him but he grabbed her by her sides and wouldn't let go. "LET ME GO!" she screamed as she reached for the beer. She clawed at him and flailed her legs as he held tight. "LUCY! He shouted but she wouldn't listen. "What the fuck! she has never acted like this" he thought as she acted like a wild animal trying to get away. "I need to get rid of this damn beer. Ahh, I hate to do this Luce." he said to himself as he picked up her legs. "Natsu, wha..what are you doing?! She asked panicked. "Don't have another option" he said as he threw her into the pool. "NATSU!" screamed Lucy as she hit the water. He quickly ran and grabbed the bottles she hadn't opened yet as she came back up. "NOOOOO" she shrieked as she got to the side and tried jumping but stumbled grabbing hold. "You fucker" she yelled as he ran out with Lucy on his tail. He managed to dump a couple down the sink before she came screaming, 

"NAAATSUUUU" he ran over fast as he could to cover her mouth as she screamed through his hand muffled. "Layla is sleeping" he growled at her as she shook her head angrily. "Lucy, for fucks sake, stop!" he begged. She whipped her head at him giving him a death glare. "God damn it baby. I understand your hurting, but this is not the way to do it. Fuck you threw a damn bottle at my head Luce." She thrashed her head around as he sighed. "you're not giving me another choice. I'm sorry" he said filled with regret as he turned her around towards him where he smashed his lips against hers as he began feeling her neck until he found the spot he was looking for. Realizing what he was doing, she looked at him with rage filled in her eyes. "You conniving bas." Was all she got out as Natsu pressed down on her pressure point knocking her out as she fell into him. Slowly he brought them down to the floor. "I'm so sorry baby" he said quietly as he wanted to scream for the pain, she was enduring that she felt she had to drink to make it all go away. Picking her up, he brought her to the bed and covered her up giving her a loving kiss on her lips. "I love you Lucy" he whispered as he rubbed his eyes and went back downstairs to clean up the pool room. "There's no way in hell I can leave all this here overnight" he said out loud as he swept up the broken bottle pieces. Getting soap and water, he scrubbed the floor of the beer getting rid of the smell. He was finally done cleaning everything after a while as he laid himself on one of the couches looking up at the ceiling. "I'll get up in a minute" he told himself as sleep took ahold of him.

"Daddy?" he woke suddenly groggily as he looked over at Layla who was standing there with Happy looking confused. He sat up and looked around "Sun's out. Didn't even notice I fell asleep" he thought as he brough his legs to the floor. Layla stood there in her night gown as Natsu motioned for her to come over. He brought her up onto his leg and rested his head on top of hers. "Morning baby girl. Did you just get up?" he asked as he rubbed his eyes. " yeah. I tried to go to mommy's room but didn't see her." "What do you mean Layla?" he asked getting his attention. "When I went in, she wasn't in there" she replied as he quickly with her in his arms darted out of the pool room and towards the front door and the window next to it. Moving the curtain, they looked out and saw Lucy's car gone. "Goddammnit Lucy" he muttered quietly as his hand turned into a fist. "Daddy?" she said nervously. Putting a hand behind her head, he brought it against his body. "Where the hell did you go Lucy?" he thought as he rubbed Layla's back comfortingly as he set her down a couple minutes later. "Baby, let's get you something to eat alright?" he said trying to stay calm as he could. "Daddy?" said Layla questionably as she saw his hands shake.

"Layla, just get your breakfast" he said through gritted teeth as she quickly went to the kitchen. Noticing he scared her, he let out a deep breath and went to help her remembering she couldn't reach the cupboards. Getting everything down for her, he poured her cereal and had her go sit down. "I'm sorry Layla, I didn't mean to scare you baby girl" he apologized. "Your worried about mommy?" "Yeah..just worried about mommy but it's not right for me to express it on you. Never let a guy or anyone else do that to you alright?" she nodded understanding. Grabbing his phone, he dialed Lucy and held it to his ear. "Come on, come on. Come on" he muttered as it went to voice mail. "DAMN IT!" he yelled making Layla jump. "Sorry sweetheart" Unlocking his phone again, he speed dialed Gray. "Hey Gray, I need you to come over, get the other two" Turning the corner so Layla was out of earshot "It's Lucy. She's gone. I'll tell you when you come over. Please come quickly" he said as he hung up. Turning around, he flashed a smile at Layla who smiled innocently and unaware of the events that had happened the night before. "Finish up your cereal baby girl , we're going to get you dressed." "Okay daddy" she replied as she took the last few mouthfuls and dumped her bowl into the sink as she went up with Natsu to get dressed. Brushing their teeth after they got dressed, they came back down.

Layla was wearing a pink shirt with glittered jeans and blue socks while Natsu put on a red t-shirt and dark blue jeans with black socks. They heard a knock at the door as Natsu said "come in you guys" the door opened as Gray and the other two came in. "Uncle Gray!" Layla exclaimed as she ran to him. "Hey munchkin" he greeted as she hugged him and then went to hug the other two. She giggled as she ran back over to Natsu. "So what's up Natsu?" Jellal asked. "Layla, why don't you go play baby girl?" said Natsu nicely as she said "okay" and walked over to her toys in the living room as the others huddled into the kitchen. "What's going on Natsu?, Gray didn't say much" "It's Lucy" he said serious as they all looked at him ready to do what they needed to. "She got drunk last night" "What?, I thought she didn't drink" said Erza. "She doesn't ..under normal circumstances but last night..I have never seen her this bad. Even after her parent's died. She never got to where she ran away from me to get beer" "I'm assuming you tried to call her already" said Gray as Natsu looked at him with a deadpan expression. " Sorry" he said . "Do you want us to find her?" asked Erza. "No, I can imagine what's she's going to be like, and I know in her right mind that she would never want you to see her like that. I'm taking Gray and going to find her." Said Natsu as Erza and Jellal gave him a look that they understood. "Hey baby girl" he said to Layla as she came back over. Giving her a hug, he said "I'm going out but behave for Erza and Jellal okay?" "Where are you going daddy?" "Just going to go out for a bit." "Okay daddy" she answered simply as she went back to her toys. "I love you" he said to her as he walked towards the door. "I love you too daddy." She answered with a smile as he chuckled as him and Gray walked out the door. "Where do you want to start?" Gray asked. "Let's just drive around town first, see if we can spot her car" he said quickly as Gray got into the driver's seat and started up the car.

They started driving around Magnolia as Natsu looked out the window for any sign of Lucy's car but found no sign of it. "Damn it Luce, where are you?" "Don't worry. We'll find her Natsu" assured Gray. He would never admit it but Natsu was terrified inside of what Lucy would be like when he found her. "I almost couldn't keep ahold of her last night, now she's had who the hell knows how many drinks in her. Fuck , why couldn't you just talk to me Lucy" he thought to himself. Pulling over, Gray in a serious voice said "we've looked around Magnolia, no luck. Do you want to keep going?" "Yes, I don't care how far we have to go. We aren't stopping until she's found" he answered as Gray nodded and went on past Magnolia. "Where the hell could she have gone? there are bars in Magnolia, but she didn't even go to one of them" said Gray.

"I have no..c..PULL OVER!" he screamed as Gray pulled over fast as the tires screeched as Natsu jumped out and ran as fast as he could to see a car crashed into a tree. Gray's eyes widened as he saw the car was Lucy's and It was a wreck. "LUCY!,LUCY! OH GOD, BABY!" he screamed frantic as he looked into the car but didn't see her. Putting his hands to his head, he paced back and fourth. "Where is she , where is she?!" "Natsu, you need to calm down, get ahold of yourself" said Gray calmly. Natsu looked at him as he tried to calm down. "Look, we know she isn't in the car." "But where the hell did she go?" Natsu said worried. "Here's what we will do. We are only a few miles away from Magnolia. We'll turn around and go look inside. Pretty sure we passed a bar on the way out." Natsu nodded his head agreeing letting out a deep breath.

"Natsu, you good man?" asked Gray concerned. "Yeah, I'm good. Let's just find her" he said quickly trying to cover up the shakiness in his voice which Gray caught but said nothing. "He's trying to focus on her without his fear getting in the way. If I say something, It'll break him" he thought wisely to himself as they got back into the car. It took only a few minutes before they got back into town and pulled into the bar. Natsu couldn't get out of the car fast enough as he scrambled out and ran for the door with Gray right behind him. They busted through the doors as they looked around. "Natsu!" Gray yelled pointing to the far corner as Natsu took off to where he pointed. Stopping dead center in front of her, he saw dried blood on her hand. "Lucy" he said quietly as she turned to look at them as they gasped. "Jesus Christ baby" he said moving her hair out of her face revealing a gash on the side of her head. He looked all the way down her body. He saw a few cuts and bruises but nothing severe minus the gash on her head. " She walked all the way over here with that injury" Gray thought as he watched Natsu look completely dumbfounded and lost. Taking a sip of her beer, she drunkenly said "wondering when you were going to find me." "Why didn't you call me?" Natsu said confused as she just shrugged her shoulders. Turning towards the bartender, he said "how many drinks has she had?" "I'd say she's had a span of five beers. She came in this morning." "Looking like that?" Gray yelled mad. The bartender nodded as Gray snapped "Fucking gash on her head and you still gave her a drink! Didn't you at least think to call someone or at least see that she was already drunk" "There's no phone in here and she wouldn't let us call anyone. Besides who are you? Since your so worried about her."

Pissed off but before Gray could say anything, Natsu cut him off "I'm her husband Natsu Dragneel. Leader of the magnolia mafia. This is Gray, my brother also with the mafia." Natsu said in a low voice. "and if you try to weasel out of the fact that you gave an injured already drunk woman more beer, I will knock you on your ass so fast, it will make your head spin " he finished aggressively as the bartender stepped far away from them. "Lucy, put down the beer." Natsu said flatly. "No" she replied. Gray grabbed it out of her hand and slid it down the bar as Lucy jumped him knocking him to the floor. "Lucy, what the fuck!" questioned Natsu as he reached down for her as she was yelling at Gray who held her hands away from his face. "He got you involved" she yelled at him but started screaming as he looked into her eyes which looked crazed. "Natsu, get her off man" "I'm trying stupid" he said as he yanked her off him. As she fought to get lose, Gray put a hand to her head. "What is it?" Natsu asked. "She's hot and her eyes are all over the place" "Yeah, time to go" stated Natsu as he carried a kicking and screaming Lucy. Gray put on the child locks on the car as he helped Natsu get Lucy into the car. Quickly they shut the door trapping her inside.

She yelled at them angrily pounding her fists on the window. "Jesus, what the hell has gotten into her" said Gray. "She's had way too much alcohol. Counting the stuff from last night and now today. She has never had that much ever. You said her head was hot? she's sick. Unfortunately, she's in too much of a crazed state to even see that. We need to take her to Wendy to heal up that wound…" "What else Natsu?" Gray asked raising an eye. "Put her in a room to sober her up" he said blunt as he said nothing else getting into the car. They were down the road when she yelled "Let me out!" but they said nothing. "AHHH" she screamed. "LUCY!" he boomed as he looked back at her pissed off. "Enough" he said cutting straight through to her as she shook from fear of his stern voice. His gaze didn't soften as he waited for her to listen. She opened her mouth when Natsu glared at her. "Don't say a fucking word. Not a single one" he said angrily. She shut it as she leaned back into her seat. Gray let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding as Natsu turned back around. "What was that?" asked Gray. Natsu stayed silent and Gray didn't push so they rode back in silence. Pulling into the back of the hospital, Natsu aggressively pulled Lucy's arm and yanked her out of the car. Gray opened the door as Lucy's eyes grew big. "What, what are we doing here!" she said scared as she tried pulling out of his grip but it was like stone and wouldn't budge. "Wendy!" Gray called out.

"I got your call, what's wrong" Natsu pulled a frantic Lucy out in front of him. "She's sick. Had too much alcohol and got into an accident. We need a room where you can look at her wound and to sober her up" he said coldly . "Oh my god" said Wendy shocked. Quickly, she had them follow her to a room with a bed with leather restraints on it. Seeing it Lucy mad a dive for the door but Natsu pushed her back hard as he threw her over his shoulder. She hit his back yelling "you bastard!, traitor, you said we were in this together!" she shrieked as he laid her on the bed where Gray quickly restrained her. "We are baby but not when your like this" he said feeling hurt. Seeing his face and hearing him, Gray put a hand on his shoulder. "We got this Natsu, go check on Layla. I'm sure she's worried" he said with compassion as Wendy nodded in agreement. Not arguing or protesting, he walked towards the door. As he stood in the doorway, he turned his head to the side looking at Lucy who had rage in her face. "I love you Lucy. Always will" his voice heartbroken as she screamed as he shut the door . He walked outside to call Erza.

"Gray, hold her arm down" ordered Wendy who tapped a syringe as Gray did what she said. Walking over, she injected Lucy's arm. "What are you giving her?" he asked. " A knockout drug. There's no way I can look at her injury with how she is right now" Wendy explained as she took the syringe out. "Why don't you guys understand! I just want the fucking pain to go away" she yelled. Disappointed Gray said "we do Lucy but this goes beyond just heartbreak. Your lucky you didn't die with how much is running through your system right now. What your putting Natsu" "Don't you dare say his name" "Your hurting him Lucy. He hasn't told you but you are." Seeing her eyes get drowsy, Gray went quiet as Lucy said "I'm hurting too.." she slurred as she went to sleep. Letting out a breath of relief, Gray stepped back letting Wendy take over as she started cleaning Lucy's head. "Did she say how she got this?" "No, we found her car in a wreck and her at the bar. Wasn't hard to put them together after that." Sighing, she said in a quiet voice " Is Natsu alright?" She looked up at Gray who shook his head no. She felt pity as she finished cleaning the blood off. "Looking at it now, it wasn't that deep so stiches won't be necessary. She just needs to keep it clean." "That's great. Thanks Wendy." "Absolutely" she replied . "The other wounds are minor so I don't need to do anything to them. Should I untie the restraints?" "No" he answered immediately. "She needs to sober up and keeping her here is the only way to do that" he explained. "She's still going to be out for a while" "That's fine. Let her rest and sleep some of it off" said Gray as they walked out of the room . "I'll come back and check on you guys later. I have to go back on the main floor" said Wendy. "No problem" replied Gray as he stepped outside seeing Natsu with a blank face.


	12. Chapter 12

"Natsu?" he said worried as Jellal and Erza came walking up with Layla. "Daddy!" she said happily running up to him as he got down to his knees and pulled her into him wrapping his arms around her as much as he could. "Da..daddy?" she said in a small voice as she heard a sound come out of his mouth and saw tears coming down. "Daddy" she said sadly as he began to cry. He gripped her tighter as she felt her shoulder slowly getting wet. Gently Erza got down to the ground and carefully got him to let go of Layla as she ran to Jellal with a worried face as he put his arms around her shoulders as she grabbed his hand looking back at Natsu. Erza took his head and put it on her shoulder as she softly whispered "It's alright Natsu" he put his hands up her back and grabbed the backs of her shoulders as he started sobbing. He screamed into her shoulder as she soothingly rubbed his back letting him cry and release. They were heartbroken looking at him. He cried for an hour until his throat was dry and couldn't release anymore tears. Sniffling, he sat and put his head back.

"Do you feel any better?" asked Erza. "Some" he croaked. "I won't be good until Lucy is better" Looking at Layla, he said "come here baby girl" Jellal lifted his hands as she ran and quickly sat next to Natsu. "I didn't mean to worry you before. Daddy just doesn't know what to do and that was the only way to let it out." "Is it mommy?" Putting an arm around her, he said "yeah..mommy is sick and really sad right now" "Daddy, don't get sad again" she said worried hearing his voice crack. "Don't worry , even if I tried, I don't even have it in me. I'll be fine" he said with a smirk. Nobody believed that but stayed silent as Natsu sat with Layla. A little while later, they walked when they heard "Let me out!" "Sleeping beauty is up" said Gray miserably as they heard her grunting trying to get lose" "Somebody help me!" It killed Natsu inside but he knew it was the only way he could get through to her. "Daddy" Layla said scared. Kneeling down, he put his hands on her shoulders and calmly said "mommy is sick remember? She just needs to get better. She'll be better tomorrow baby girl" "Promise?" "Yes, I promise" he squeezed her shoulders reassuring her. Looking at Jellal and Erza, he said "can you guys please take her for the night. Use the spare key we gave you to her get a bag." "Of course" answered Erza. Layla looked at him with longing eyes. "Daddy, please…I want to stay" she begged grabbing his hand. He closed his eyes, clenching his teeth, as he let go and said heartbroken " you can't baby. Mommy is going to be here for a while, and I need to stay here for a while to make sure she's alright." "Let me stay and help" she cried as she started to get emotional . "Baby girl, there's nothing you can do sweetheart, Layla, baby, don't cry" he said in a caring and loving voice as he put a hand to his cheek wiping her tears with his thumb. "But, but I don't want to leave you alone" "I won't be alone baby girl. Uncle Gray is going to be here" "That's right, I'll be here for him munchkin. Don't you worry" said Gray with a soft smile.

Cupping her cheek in his hand , she rubbed her head against it as she cried. "See, I'll be alright Layla. Go home with your aunt and uncle. Be the best little girl I know you are" he said with a smile as she let out a cry and threw her arms around his neck. He closed his eyes as he put a hand to her to the back of her head and kissed the side of her head. "Shhhh, Layla. Your alright" he whispered softly . "Dad..ddy" "I love you" he said taking his face away and looking at her. She quieted her crying as she said "I love you too daddy" "Go sweetheart " she turned to see Erza with a open hand with a warm smile. Layla sniffled wiping her tears as she took Erza's hand and walked with her and Jellal. Layla waved to Natsu and Gray as they left. Walking inside, it was quiet as they stood outside of Lucy's room. "You going to be alright going in there?" asked Gray cautiously. "Don't have a choice" he replied as he opened the door letting them both in. She glared at them but didn't say a word. "Throat finally catch up" said Gray bitter. Natsu went and took a seat next to her. "Don't Gray" he ordered as Gray quickly shut up his mouth .

"Lucy" he said taking her hand. "I am so sorry if you have felt I haven't been there" she groaned and turned her head away. "Natsu, come on." Gray said as he got up. "Huh?, where are we going?" "Lucy needs time to get that alcohol out of her system and you haven't eaten for a while. Come on. It will just be for a few hours." He urged. Natsu looked back at Lucy who still was turned away from them. "Alright. We'll be back soon Luce" he said squeezing her hand as he got up. Gray patted Natsu's back as they left. "This is good for both of you man. She needs time." "Oh, are you done being angry with her?" Natsu sniped unexpectedly as Gray looked at him slightly shocked. "I'll admit I let my emotions get the better of me. .It's hard containing them anymore but that doesn't make it right for you to be bitter and angry towards her" Natsu said harshly. "I..I'm sorry , I didn't mean too. She just made me mad how she treated you." Said Gray as they walked out to the car. "I get that but as I said ,she's never acted like that before and also, it wasn't just me she wasn't lashing at." "Oh I know that loud and clear." "Don't hold any of that against her. She's not thinking right now" said Natsu caring as his cheeks blushed some thinking about her. "Alright Natsu., I'm sorry" he apologized. " Come on, let's get something eat" Natsu said lightly. "I'm the one that told you that" joked Gray as they got into the car and headed out to get something to eat.

After grabbing something to eat and being away for a few hours, they came back in happier spirits then when they left. Walking into the room, Natsu's eyes widened as he ran over to Lucy who was covered in puke. "Jesus! Lucy, why didn't you yell for someone baby!" he yelled as he undid her restraints as she quickly leaned over the side. He jumped out of the way barely in time as her puke hit the floor. "Gray, get me a towel or something" Natsu said quickly as Gray ran out to find one. "God Lucy" he said sadly as he held her hair back. Gray came rushing back as Natsu took it and gently wiped her mouth and attempted to clean the puke off her body. Lucy looked at him with apologetic eyes as Natsu wiped what was left. "Why didn't anyone come check on you?" he said in a low voice trying to contain his anger. "Natsu…easy" urged Gray waving his hands down at him. "Where's Wendy!" he yelled. "She must be busy on the floor. She has more patients then just Lucy Natsu. She's an actual doctor and we're in a hospital." "I DON'T CARE! LUCY HAD PUKE ON HER AND NOONE WAS THERE TO HELP HER!" he screamed angrily. " " Lucy said weakly grabbing his hand getting his attention. She shook her head as she said "no one'sss ffault..don't blame Wendy..ahhhhh" she grabbed at her throat in pain. "What's wrong!?" asked Natsu. She pointed to her throat.

" Hang on Luce!" he told her quickly as he ran over to the sink and opened the cupboard to look for anything resembling a cup. Finding something, he filled it up quick and brought it back to Lucy who started sipping as she quickly took it away. "ahhh. Iittt buurns" she cried as Natsu looked at her with sympathy. "This is why you shouldn't have drank baby" "I..Im " She gritted her teeth as she tried to drink more water. "Oh god" she thought as she handed Natsu the water and tossed her head to the side throwing up. "What can I do?" asked Gray. "Can you go by the house and grab her some clothes? These are covered in puke stains" "Sure" replied Gray. "Nnnna" "Shush Luce. Don't try talking right now" he said caringly. Grabbing his hand, she got his attention as she hoarsely said "I need..ttto.. this" "What Luce?" "I'm ss..sorry" He didn't say anything figuring he knew what she was apologizing for. " I have been treating you horribly lately" "Lucy, stop baby, I can see your throat is killing you. You don't need to go into this right now" said Natsu. Lucy shook her head "No..I have been q..ahem..quiet long enough" "Luce." but before he could say anything else, Erza walked through the door surprising all three of them. "Erza?, what are you doing here?" asked Natsu "I thought you were watching Layla" said Gray. "Jellal is at home watching her. I came by myself. I wanted to see for myself if she was alright." Erza explained. "Can we have a few minutes alone?" she asked looking at the guys who looked at each other. "You alright with this Lucy?" Natsu asked cautiously. "I'm fine . You can go" she answered as Natsu and Gray eyed Erza as they walked out of the room and shut the door.

"So how are you feeling? Erza asked. Lucy let her head fall on one side as she gave her a knowing playful look and raised her eyebrow. "Alright, I see your point" said Erza as she raised her hands. " What did you want to talk about?..it's got to be something or you wouldn't have asked them to leave" "You catch on quick" complimented Erza as Lucy gave her a face saying to the get to the point. "Alright, yes your right. I came for another reason besides just to check on you. Let me say first off that I cannot imagine the pain you're in right now. The amount of trauma that you have had to endure these last 8 months. It's enough to drive anyone mad and you are right to feel everything that your feeling and I cannot begin to say how sorry I am that you have had to go through all this and I mean that with all the love in my heart. " she said sincerely "But..I know there's a but" said Lucy. Erza looked at her conflicted as Lucy said gently "just go ahead and tell me." Clearing her throat in a straight but caring voice, Erza said " First let me tell you, I am always going to be here for you for anything. As a sister, a friend, whatever you need to be. I love you and you will always be my sister. However, I am concerned because recently you have been lashing out when you've gotten drunk. Jellal, Gray and I have noticed it when we've hung out with you. I am not saying any of this to hurt you or anything like that but I believe you are using the wrong outlet to let your anger out on." Erza pulled out her phone confusing Lucy but only for a moment as she clicked play on a video. Lucy watched in horror as the video showed her lashing out at Natsu screaming at him.

She put a hand to her mouth as tears came to her eyes. "Hhhow did you get this?" she stuttered. "I recorded it at one point when you weren't looking and wouldn't notice me." "Ohhh mmy goddd Natsu.. I'm horrible, I'm horrible to him" she cried as tears started streaming down her face. Turning the video off, she put her phone away and squeezed Lucy's hand. Gently she said "your not a horrible person Lucy. I promise. That's not why I showed you the video. I wanted you to see for yourself that you are just choosing the wrong outlet. Natsu loves you , always has ,always will. Five years apart has never changed that. You just need to find something else to channel what your feeling. I know your in pain Lucy and I swear from the bottom of my heart, I will do everything in my power to help you." "Wha..wha should I do Erza?" she asked tearfully. "First you need to heal, that's going to take time but afterwards.. talk to Natsu about rehab. This needs to be a discussion between the two of you" Said Erza honestly. Lucy sniffled and nodded her head as Erza put a hand to her shoulder and gave her a warm smile.

"Alright you two, I know your trying to listen. We're done now so quit hanging at the door and get in here" said Erza as the door opened immediately as Natsu and Gray walked through. "Lucy, your crying" said Natsu instantly as he walked over and wiped the tears away. Grabbing his hands, she looked at him with an honest look in her eyes. "Natsu." "What is it Luce?" "I want to go to rehab. I want to do that, A.A meetings, whatever. I want to get better" He squeezed her hands as he looked at her and then Erza. "What the heck did you two talk about?" he asked. "It's between two sisters and you don't need to know more then that" Erza said blunt giving him a look that she would say no more as he just blinked and turned back to Lucy .Taking his hands out of hers, he cupped her cheeks and kissed her forehead. "We will talk about all that when we get home" he said quietly as he softly smiled at her. "In the meantime, if you want to get better sooner to at least get out of here, you're going to have to drink more water. I know your throat hurts baby and I'm sorry." Said Natsu. "Why..why can't we go home?" asked Lucy.

"Because unfortunately you still have a lot of alcohol in your system. It hasn't been long enough yet for all that to clear out of your system" he explained to her as guilt appeared on her face as the video of yelling and hitting Natsu in the video flashed back through her head. "Luce?" Shaking her head, she said " I understand" she said putting her head back on the pillow. "Besides that, just from looking over here Lucy, your still sweating like crazy, your not in a condition to go home yet" observed Gray. "Ha…fuck you've gotta be kidding me!"said Lucy annoyed as she put her head over the side as Natsu kicked the garbage can over as Lucy puked into it. "Fffff..uuck mme..ahhh" Lucy strained through puking as she put her fingers to her throat. Natsu comfortingly rubbed her back with one hand and grabbed her hair with the other. "Hey Gray, can you go by the house and grab her clothes" asked Natsu. "Right, yeah I'll go. be back in a few guys" replied Gray as he went out the door. "Get you out of those grubby clothes" "Ttthannk you" she said hoarse. She slowly rose back up and laid back on the bed. "You think your done?" Natsu asked nicely. Lucy nodded as Erza handed her some water who immediately began drinking it. "Drink up Lucy. I'm going to go get back to Jellal and Layla. If either of you need anything, give us a call" she said as she headed for the door. "Thanks, Erza" thanked Natsu. Lucy nodded in agreement. Erza smiled and said "your welcome guys" then shut the door behind her leaving Natsu and Lucy alone.


	13. Chapter 13

"Lucy" said Natsu in a mildly serious voice getting her attention. "Why were you crying? I won't ask what you and Erza talked about. I can respect that. I just want to make sure you're alright"( **Fairy tail main theme slow version)** Looking down, she said "because I was shown the truth and needed to see it for myself. I'll never sing again and I just need to accept that" "Lucy, you don't" she put a hand to his mouth stopping him as she looked at him with an enlightened smile. "Please don't try to give me false hope Natsu. That's just going to bring more pain on both of us" she told him quietly as he took her hand away and kissed her ( **End song)** They got lost in the moment as he cupped her cheek as she reached her hands up to his face. The world was lost to them as Lucy felt Natsu's love and passion through his kiss. Finally they released as Lucy said "you are so handsome" He chuckled as he shook his head and put a hand to her head. "your still warm you weirdo" he laughed as he saw her eyes were still slightly loopy. "Nooo" she said in a kid like voice. "Oh yes you are." He said highly amused. "But youuu are handsome…and strong" "And see that's how I know you still have alcohol in your system because you don't say stuff like that out loud but I appreciate the compliment." She smiled a big kid like grin as Natsu very lightly said "get some sleep Luce. Gray should be back soon and then we can get you out of those grimy clothes" "That would be great" she said loosely as she closed her eyes. "Lucy?" he heard small snoring sounds from her as he smirked. "that didn't take long..get some sleep baby. I'll be here when you wake up" he said quietly.

A few hours went by as Gray came back after she had been long asleep. Handing Natsu the bag, he said "thanks Gray. Really appreciate it" "No problem. Just hope she doesn't mind what's in there" said Gray completely serious as Natsu raised an eyebrow. "ha , relax Natsu. I'm joking. There's nothing bad. Just a few tshirts and pants along with some undergarments" "Hmph, very funny" sniped Natsu. "Have you gotten any sleep?" asked Gray. "Nahh, but it's fine" "You need to get some sleep soon" said Gray. "Thanks dad" said Natsu with sarcasm. "tch, I'm not trying to be an ass here dude. I'm saying if you don't get some soon then your going to crash and burn then you won't be help to anyone , least of all your wife" Narrowing his eyes, Natsu said "watch it" as he stood up. "Don't forget, brother or not. I am still your leader and you will respect that" Gray nodded his head respectfully. "I know , sorry"

Relaxing his face, he said "your good" Walking over to Lucy, he gently nudged her and whispered " Lucy, time to wake up baby. Come on" Very sleepily she rubbed her eyes and slowly opened them. "Natsu" she said quietly as she smiled. "I'm here. Just like I said" he said happily. He picked up the bag and put in her lap. "Change of clothes Luce. courtesy of Gray" said Natsu. "Thanks Gray….could you leave so I can change please" "Oh, sure" Gray said quickly feeling stupid for not realizing that sooner stepping out the door closing it. Lifting her shirt, Natsu helped lift up over her head and unhooked her bra for her as she reached into the bag and pulled out a shirt and another bra. Hooking it up, she put the shirt on as she went for her pants and under next as she threw those to the floor, "Damn Lucy, do you hate your clothes?" he said amused. "No, they just stink" she replied. Finishing up with her socks, she got back onto the bed as Natsu opened the door letting Gray back in. "So how long you think you'll have to be here?" asked Gray "I don't know to be honest" she answered. "Wendy!" Natsu yelled out as she came running. "What's up?" she asked "We"" Wait, Lucy, when did you change your clothes?" Wendy said cutting Natsu right off irritating him.

Clearing his throat loudly, he got Wendy's attention. "First off, why didn't you have anyone down here to check on her?" he said very annoyed." I'm sorry Lucy, I had other patients, One of them I had to do an operation on. I deeply apologize" "It's alright Wendy" said Lucy. "No it isn't. Wendy, I walked in here and she was covered in her own puke" he said factually. Wendy's eyes got big as she looked over at Lucy. "I am so sorry" she said "Look I understand you have other patients because you aren't just the mafia doctor and that you're an actual doctor. I respect that but god damn it Wendy, why didn't you have someone down here to check on her? At the very least, to see if she needed anything" said Natsu. Shaking her head, Wendy looked at him apologetically " "I swear I was coming to check on her but your right and I should have been here sooner. I'm sorry Natsu…but is there a reason Gray got my attention?" "Yes, when do you think Lucy can go home?" he asked calmly less irritated. "Tomorrow, I want to keep her overnight, make sure all the alcohol is gone and I need to look at her throat. Make sure nothing has gotten in there and that she hasn't damaged it more" explained Wendy. Sound reasonable?" Natsu questioned looking at Lucy who nodded her head. Wendy quietly walked over and kindly said "Lucy, I need to look under the bandages and make sure everything is alright. Are you okay if I do that?" "Yes" whispered Lucy. Carefully, she unwrapped the bandage around Lucy's throat as Lucy grabbed Natsu's hand quickly and squeezed. "Your alright Luce, I'm right here" he said reassuring her as Gray put a hand on her shoulder as he gave her a slight grin. Wendy removed the last bandage revealing the cut. It was still tender and dried blood was around it.

"I'm going to have to clean this" she told them as Lucy's breath suddenly tightened. "I promise I will go as gently as I can" swore Wendy. She turned and went to a cabinet to grab a cloth and cleaning stuff. She walked back over as Wendy poured it onto the towel and delicately started cleaning as Lucy trembled slightly. "Your okay Lucy." Said Natsu caringly. She nodded slightly having heard him. "There" said Wendy after a few minutes. "Alright, I'm going to wrap it back up now" she said as she went and grabbed fresh bandages. As she wrapped the wound back up, she looked at Lucy with a serious but not mean face and said "I'm sure you already know this but no more alcohol. Not while your healing or its just going to make the healing five times slower." "Believe me..i know all too well the effects alcohol has on me" Lucy said quietly. "Huh?" "It's nothing" she replied as Gray and Natsu glanced at her with a knowing look. "Okay, now that that is done, I need you to open Lucy so I can see if there's any damage" Doing what she said , Lucy opened her mouth and Wendy shined a flashlight down her throat. "Minus some inflammation, there doesn't appear to be anything else." "Anything that can help?" asked Natsu. "teas, coffee, soft foods, ice cream, soup. Nothing too hard. Last thing she needs is trouble swallowing foods." Wendy said plainly.

"Alright, that's no problem" Natsu said lightly. "Okay, is there anything else at all that you guys need? Because if not, I need to go back upstairs" she told them as Natsu and Gray shook their heads. "Luce,? , did you need Wendy for anything? He asked her. "No" she croaked. "Alright, I promise I'll be back to check on her before I leave for the night" Wendy assured as she left. "Well now what?" said Gray. "You can go if you want Gray, you have done more than enough" said Natsu. "I don't mind staying" "Gray, I mean it, go home" Natsu said with a smile. "Spend time with Juvia, I'm sure she misses you." "Ha, the woman always misses me. Even if I'm gone for five minutes let alone a couple hours." Gray joked making Natsu chuckle. " As I said a while ago, you'd be amazed what your willing to put up with for the woman you love" "You said it and now I understand what you mean. Clingy as she is, I love her. Don't know what I'd do without her. Just like Lucy" Natsu nodded positively in agreement and understanding. "Well then I will go home .Hit me up if you need me to bring you guys anything." Natsu and Lucy nodded happily as Gray gave them a hand wave and left. Natsu went to sit in a chair next to her as he laid his head down on the bed as Lucy ran her fingers through his hair.

"You need sleep too Natsu" "Ughhh, you too" groaned Natsu. "Gray said something, now you" "Well then maybe you should listen" Natsu planted his face in the middle of the bed. "Alright fine" he complained muffled as he turned his head to the side. Glancing up at her, he said "you too. Your throat needs time to heal without you talking" said Natsu. "Okay" she replied quietly but happily as she smiled at him as he closed his eyes then she closed hers. The rest of the day, Natsu didn't go anywhere as he helped Lucy with drinking water and having her keep talking to a minimum. "Are you hungry?" he asked later that evening as she shook her head yes. "Okay, I'll order us some food. Soup it is for you" he said with a chuckle as he dialed and placed an order to a local restaurant. "There, now just to wait" "Natsu?, I wanted to say thank you" she said in a quiet sincere voice. "For what?" "You know, for always taking my crap when I get drink on the times I actually drink. Your always there to take it even though I treated you like shit in the past and then just recently." "Lucy, stop baby" he said holding his hands in front of him. "Baby, I already told you I'm not going anywhere. If I wanted to run away or leave you because of that, I would have left back when we were in high school Luce" he said lightly. "Really, you don't have to thank me. Now stop, we will talk about all of this when we get home, I promise. "Okay" said Lucy agreeing.

The food came as Natsu gave Lucy her soup. "Take it easy Luce, the last thing we need is for you to burn your throat even more" he cautioned as he handed her the spoon. "Yes dad" she joked. "Yeah yeah, joke all you want Luce, but if I have to treat you like Layla to make sure you don't injure yourself further then that is what I will do" Natsu said with a hint of seriousness. "I hear you, I won't make this hard on you" she said with a guilted expression. Natsu hit his face with his hand "that's not." He said slightly agitated as he clenched and unclenched his jaw. Taking his hand from his face in a calm voice he said "Luce, I did not say that to demean you or say that you are a child. You haven't made thing's hard" "That's a lie" she cut him sharply. "Lucy, stop. Your turning this into something it doesn't need to be." "Am I? your telling me this has been easy on you?" she looked over as she sipped her soup to see Natsu's hand starting to slightly shake as she looked up at his face as he tried to maintain a calm demeaner. "Lucy, I'm asking you now to stop..please" "Okay" she answered knowing he was struggling to not get mad. Breathing a small sigh of relief, he said "thank you" "Sorry" she apologized. "Just eat your soup you goof" he said lightly as he ate his sandwich. After they were done eating, they brushed their teeth as Lucy got settled for the night. Wendy popped her head in.

"Everything alright down here?" she asked. "Yup. It's all good here" said Natsu. "I'm glad" she said sweetly. "You look exhausted Wendy" said Lucy noticing the bags under her eyes and stuff on her clothes. "You alright?" asked Natsu. "Oh I'm good guys, this is a normal thing for me. I'll be good once I get home and get some shuteye so if you guys don't need me for anything else" "Nope, your free to go home" said Natsu. "Alright, before you guys leave in the morning, I just want to take a last look in her throat then you'll be free to go" said Wendy. "Sound's good. See you in the morning" said Natsu and Lucy as she nodded her head and left. "Can we call Erza?. Layla's bed time should be coming up soon. I want to say goodnight" asked Lucy. "Sure" he replied happily as he got onto the bed next to her as she snuggled up to him making him chuckle. He pulled out his phone and clicked the video chat button as it started ringing as Erza picked it up a few seconds later. "Hey guys!" Erza greeted happy as Jellal waved. "Is she in bed yet?" asked Lucy. "Nope , you made it in time" pointed out Erza as she called Layla over. They watched on the screen as she came running. "Mommy!,mommy,mommy!" Layla said elated with joy as she jumped up and down. "Hi baby" Lucy cooed softly. "Are you feeling better?. You don't look sad anymore" said Layla curious. "I'm getting there" answered Lucy as honestly as she could. "Hey Layla" Natsu greeted with a grin. "Daddy, hi!" answered Layla with a big smile. "Are you behaving?" "Ummm,well…" she said stuttering. "Layla…?" Natsu questioned seriously as Layla lifted her head up with a bright big grin as her and Erza started laughing. "Just kidding!" she yelled at her parents as they rolled their eyes. "She's been great" answered Erza still laughing. "That's wonderful" answered Lucy with a warm smile. "When are you coming home mommy?" "I'll be home tomorrow baby girl" Lucy replied "Yay!" Layla said excited. "Alright baby dragon, calm down." Natsu said lightly.

"It's time for you to go to bed" "Okay daddy, I love youuuu!. I love you mommy" she yelled. "Love you too baby" they replied in unison as they made kissy faces at her as Erza laughed lightly and said "goodnight you guys. Get some sleep. Talk to you tomorrow" "Goodnight" they said as they hung up. "Full of energy as always huh?" teased Natsu. "Yes she is but she's also six so" "True, okay, let's get some sleep" he insisted as Lucy moved over some letting him lay down with her as she laid her head on his chest as he put his arms around her. "I love you Natsu" she said quietly. "I love you too Lucy" he replied kissing her head as she blushed, and they closed their eyes. They woke up the next morning as Lucy stretched her arms out and let out a yawn. "Ha, so did you get some sleep then?" asked Natsu amused. "Yep I did. Did you?" she said feeling good. "I did surprisingly considering it's a small bed" said Natsu. "So how long before we get to go home?" she asked eagerly. "Woah slow down their Luce. We have to make sure there's nothing else going on with your throat first" Calming herself, she said "okay, okay ,fine" crossing her arms making a pout face at him. Cracking up laughing, he said "don't be like that. We'll be home soon" as he uncrossed her arms and looked at her lovingly making her smile. A knock came to the door as Wendy stepped in. "How are we feeling this morning?" "Good and ready to go home" Lucy answered chipper. " I see" said Wendy with amusement. "I need to check your throat one more time though before you so open up" Wendy said nicely as Lucy opened her mouth letting Wendy see into it.

"Good, the inflammation has gone down" she observed as she turned the flashlight off and looked at them. "You still need to be careful Lucy. Your throat is still vulnerable to being reopened so take care to watch that" Wendy advised looking straight at Natsu. "Nothing will happen to her" he answered seriously. "I know it wont..or else I'll have to kill you" she said with completely straight face as Natsu and Lucy didn't know if she meant it. "Just kidding" she answered cheerfully. Natsu and Lucy laughed nervously not fully believing her. "Alright well it looks like everything is good for now. I'll be calling to check in for the first couple weeks just to make sure it's healing properly" "Sounds good "said Natsu as Lucy nodded in agreement. "Well time for my shift to start, see you later guys" she said as she waved to them. "Let's go" said Lucy excited ,her voice still slightly hoarse. "Well get changed you goof, come on" Natsu teased as Lucy got up and changed her clothes.

"Ready to go?" he asked a few minutes later as she stood up straight with a smile and said "yep" "Then let's go" he said holding the door open with a smirk as she walked by him. "Man, do I love her" Natsu thought to himself as he grabbed her hand and they walked out as Lucy welcomed the sunshine on her face. "Sunlight..it feels great" she said quietly appreciative. "Come on Luce, let's get you home" he said softly as she giggled and nodded as they got into the car and went home. Getting home, Lucy immediately went for the couch and laid on her stomach as she grabbed at the pillows. "Sooooo happy to be home" she said delightfully as Natsu just lightly shook his head. He smirked at her as he went to the kitchen. "Natsu?" Lucy questioned as he was quiet. Reaching into the fridge, he pulled out some water and walked back over to sit in a chair across from her with his head down. "Natsu? your making me nervous" said Lucy. Lifting his head up, he said " we need to talk Luce"


	14. Chapter 14

"Didn't want to wait huh? Said Lucy sullenly as she looked down. Natsu shook his head and said in a clear, plain voice "this can't wait baby. I'm sorry" She looked further down as Natsu put his hands together and leaned forward. "Look, Lucy, we need to figure something out." " I am making this hard on you aren't I?" "No Luce, I ..hmmmph" he said getting annoyed. "Just come out and say it Natsu" Lucy said blunt. "The only reason! This is hard is because I know you are better then this. I know you are hurting, believe me I know baby but drinking is not the way to fix this." "I know that" said Lucy getting annoyed. "I told you! I wanted to go to rehab, I want to fix this" she said adamant. Raising an eyebrow "are you sure about that?" he questioned hard. " " she stuttered as she looked down sadly. "I want to stop hurting you" she said quietly. "You know what means right?" he asked. She looked up at his face seeing a serious expression "that means no more drinking, we will look into the different programs, see what they have" "Okay" Lucy answered quietly agreeing. "You need to do one thing though and promise you will do" "What is it?" Lucy asked immediately. "Go to A.A meetings and I don't mean just once in a while. I mean every week until we've got a good grip on this. I will even go with you if that helps" "Really?" Lucy looked at him hopeful as he walked over and knelt in front of her putting his hands on her knees. Looking at her, he said in a honest , kind voice "yes Lucy. Just like everything else, we are in this together. You aren't alone in this. I promise" She nodded her head fast as she felt tears coming before she could stop them.

Natsu put a hand to her cheek and rubbed it with his thumb as he touched his forehead to hers closing his eyes. " I don't want to hurt you anymore or cause you pain" she said tearfully. "You only hurt me because you were in pain Luce.. and you never cause me pain. The worst thing you ever did was scream at me and then when you tried to throw a bottle at my head the other night" He opened his eyes to see Lucy's face filled with guilt. "I'm so so sorry Natsu" she said deeply. "Hey" he said gently as her eyes looked at him. "Your alright baby" he said as he put his head on top of hers and brought her into his chest. "We'll be alright Luce. I'm not going anywhere. Layla isn't either." "Shouldn't she be home soon?" she asked drying up her tears that had started to fall. "Yeah I think so but no hurry" said Natsu. "Let's start looking to the programs then if we have the time" encouraged Lucy as Natsu nodded and went to grab his laptop and came back and sat down on the couch next to her. "Natsu, I didn't even think about it but do we even have the insurance for me to even do a rehab program?" Lucy said suddenly. "Relax Lucy. We're covered" he assured. "Come on, let's see what we got" They went on a search and began writing things down. Programs for one on one therapy, rehabilitation centers, day treatments. Intensive outpatient programs and then care groups.

"Well we've got a whole list now Luce, it's your choice to figure out which one you want to do." Said Natsu. "I don't want to leave home" putting his hand over hers, he squeezed gently and said "no one ever said anything about you having to leave. We will find something to make sure you can stay home. I can watch over you too" "I appreciate that. Okay, well after looking at them" "Hold up, I don't want this to be a rash decision Luce. Think about what you really want to do. Look over all these and then decide what you want to do. I'll go an" "no" she said quickly grabbing his arm as he got up causing him to look back at her as she begged "please stay" The look in her eyes was enough as he sat back down. "Okay" he said with a soft smile. He sat back on the couch as Lucy picked up the notebook, she wrote everything down on and began focusing. Natsu watched as she crossed things off, added notes to things and mumbled a few things to herself. After an hour, she let a tired sigh as she motioned Natsu to sit up. "Okay, so what did you decide on?" "I'm going to do the day treatment. I have to go to meetings a few times a week and they also have A.A so I'll be able to stay home" "Are they where I can I come with you to the meetings?" "Yes" she answered. "I'm proud of you baby" he said with a smile. "Thank you" she said heartfelt as he leaned forward giving her a deep kiss.

She dropped her notebook to the floor as she put her arms around her as he gently brought them to the floor. She released from him for a second but Natsu brought her right back as she let out a breath before going back to him. He wrapped his legs around her keeping her in place, but she didn't mind as she was focused on him and only him. She put her arms around his neck as she softly grabbed the back of his head with her hands. After another couple minutes, they both released as they looked each other in the eye. "I love you more than the whole universe, you know that. Natsu said distantly as he was lost in Lucy's eyes. Her cheeks grew a slight tint to them as she put a hand to Natsu's cheek and said " I know. I love you too, more then anything" he smiled a loving smile as he brushed her hair out of her face and brought her down for a last kiss before they got up.

" So, when do you think we should start?" asked Lucy. " it's the weekend so we'll call them on Monday and set something up" Natsu told her. "Sounds good to me" she agreed. "Now just to figure out…? "Lucy ,what?!" he quickly said nervously seeing her face suddenly drop. "the medical bills" Relieved, he said "Oh, is that what your worried about?" he said lightly as she looked at him confused. Taking her hands, he looked at her relaxed and calm and said "baby, you don't have to worry about that. Your good. Everything with Wendy was free" "But what about" "The hospital earlier?, that was covered" he said finishing her sentence. "Breathe Luce, your fine baby" he said reassuring her as he rubbed her hands. She let out a deep breath and gave him a small grin. "Jeeze, you almost scared me for a second, thought you were really worried about something. Medical bills are nothing Lucy now that we're part of the mafia" said Natsu. "You forgot to mention that" Lucy said lightly. "Sorry" he replied. "Do you want to head to the store? get you some cold stuff? He asked. "Let's go" she said as they turned and walked out the door. "I have to say, it feels great…not having to look over my shoulder anymore" she said quietly feeling grateful as she saw Natsu with a smirk. " I agree but don't think this means I'll stop being protective cause no there is no fucking way in hell that will ever happen" Lucy giggled as she said " I know. That's who you are my dragon and I wouldn't want you any other way". "Come on my warrior, let's get you some food" he said amused as they got into the car. Once they got to the store, they grabbed the cart and went to dairy section.

"Yogurt?" questioned Lucy. "Yep, Wendy said no hard foods for a bit so yogurt is what you got" answered Natsu. "Now pick what flavor you want" She went for the strawberry flavored as she picked some out and put them in the cart. "Alright, where to next? let's go to the soup isle then we can go look at ice creams" he finished with knowing how she would react. He started chuckling as her eyes lit up. "Ice cream!" she said happily. "Like mother, like daughter" "So what" she said playfully smacking his arm. He just rolled his eyes as they walked forward when Natsu stopped suddenly getting Lucy's attention. "Natsu?" she said as she saw his hands tighten around the cart. She followed his eyes and looked forward. Lisanna was standing in front of them. She started shaking as Natsu stared at her intensely. Lucy immediately put a hand to her bandages. "Natsu told me she was the reason my throat was almost cut the first time" she thought. "I'm sso ssssorry Lucy" she stuttered, her voice quivering with fear. "Ssssomebody ggot to you" she said sadly. "Lisanna, you need to go" Lucy said coldly putting a hand on Natsu's shoulder. " I told you If I ever saw you again, I'd kill you. I'd listen to Lucy if I were you because she is the only reason I'm not snapping your neck like a twig right now" he said darkly as Lisanna flinched and quickly ran the other direction away from them.

Once Lisanna was out of their sight, Lucy turned her head to face Natsu. " Calm down now Natsu. She's gone" she still saw his hands tightened around the cart as she grabbed her purse and pulled his arm yanking him off the cart. She pulled until they were outside where they walked around to the side of the store where she let go as he slammed his fists into the wall causing her to involuntarily jump. Breathing hard, he leaned his head down. "I'm sorry" he said roughly. "She really got to you didn't she?" "That freaking rat of a woman was the reason I almost didn't make it the first time, If I had been a second later, you would of" "Lost my throat" she finished for him. He pounded one of his hands into a wall again. Calmly, she walked over to him as she gently put her hands on his arm. " I didn't lose my throat, you got there in time. You saved me Natsu." She said positively. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Lu" "ahh, no. No feeling guilt Natsu. Between the two of us, there's been enough guilt to go around." She said sharply. "I'm okay baby..so you should be too." She said softly as he leaned back and straightened himself up grabbing Lucy and pulling her into him as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

" I really don't know what I would do without you. I'd be a raging hot mess if it wasn't for you" "and I'd be a depressed basket case. Are we really doing this?" "Well as you just saw,..your my strength Luce." "I know…and your what pulls me back from darkness" she whispered softly. "We're each other's greatest strengths" stated Natsu. "And it took you not killing Lisanna to notice that?" said Lucy. "Of course not, I've always known that. I just..wanted to say it out loud" She looked at him lovingly and said " come on, we've got yogurt sitting in the cart and we need to finish shopping" He smiled as he let go of her and they walked back into the store. Finally finishing up their shopping, Lucy dug into the ice cream as soon as they got home. "Now I see where Layla get it's from" he mumbled teasingly. "Shut up" she replied hearing him. "I can't help if it I like ice cream" she protested as Natsu started laughing. "Wipe your lip their Luce" he said as she annoyingly wiped her lip as she felt ice cream coming off if. She stuck her tongue out at him as he continued laughing. He stopped when he heard a knock at the door. Walking over, he opened it to have Layla jump at him knocking him to the floor. "DADDY!" she screamed joyfully as he lifted his head up. "Well..hello to you too baby girl" he said weakly as he was still recovering being knocked on the floor. " Afternoon Natsu" greeted Erza with a light smile. "Hey" he greeted. "Layla, get off me please baby girl" Layla nodded quickly as she got up and saw Lucy who had finished her ice cream.

"MOMMY!" She ran over to Lucy's opening arms and jumped into them as Lucy landed on the couch. "Hi baby" she cooed happily as Layla hugged her. "I'm so glad your not sick or sad anymore mommy" "Well I'm not sick anymore but I'm still sad" "Aww" "Don't worry Layla" said Natsu overhearing as he placed his hands on Lucy's shoulder. "We're going to help mommy so she isn't sad anymore" he said confidently as Layla clapped and said cheerfully "yay!. I get to help" Natsu grinned as he said "yes, yes you do baby girl" "Do you guys need me to help with anything?" asked Erza walking over to the couch. "Nahh, we're good" he said as he thought of something. "Well if you don't need anything else, I'll get going" said Erza as she waved to the girls. Natsu quickly went with her to the door as he walked out with her. "What is it Natsu?" " I got Lucy into rehab" "That's great but why did you need to come out here to tell me that?" "Because I need to ask if you guys could not come over for a little bit. I'll keep you updated but I already know this is going to be hard on her and she will hate you guys seeing her like that" "Say no more, I understand and will let the others know. We will handle the mafia stuff and keep you informed" replied Erza. "Thanks Erza" Natsu said clapping his hand with Erza's. "You got it boss" she replied amused as he waved at her and went back inside.

Layla and Lucy were laughing sitting on the couch when they heard Natsu come back in and smiled at him waving him to come over. Not complaining, he walked over and sat in the middle between them as he put his arms around both of them as they snuggled up next to him. "Okay so what do my ladies want to do today?" he said teasingly. "Play!" yelled Layla. "Ha, we can do that Layla , is there anything else you want to do?" "Park" answered Lucy and Layla suddenly making Natsu bust out laughing. "Alright, alright well then got get your shoes on you weirdo" he told Layla as she ran to get her shoes. Lucy just stood up with Natsu since she hadn't taken her shoes off yet since they had gotten home. "I'll drive" said Lucy. "Sounds, good. Come on Layla" he encouraged as he opened the door to have Layla go flying towards Lucy's car. "Let's go, let's 's go!" she repeated excitedly as Lucy lightly said "I'm coming, don't forget about daddy. He's coming too" "Come on daddy!" she yelled as he got to the passenger side door. "I'm right here you goofball, get in your seat" he told her as she climbed into the back as Lucy buckled her straps and then got in her seat.

"Wait, where's Happy! She cried in a panic turning her head back and fourth looking for him. "Relax baby, I'm sure he's just inside" said Lucy calmly. Natsu kept a straight face as he unbuckled silently and got out. "Natsu?" Lucy called as he headed back inside the house. "Mommy!" Layla cried out getting upset. "it's okay baby" A couple minutes later, Natsu came back out as he went to Layla whose eye's lit up as she saw Happy in his hands. "EEEEEK" she screamed happily hugging Happy to her as Natsu smirked rubbing his hand on her head as she smiled thankfully at him. "Thank you daddy" she cried happily. He chuckled as he got back in the car. "Well that didn't take you long" Lucy joked as Natsu grinned. " I already knew where he was" he answered simply. "he was in her backpack on the floor." "Well aren't you the observant one?" she teased making him chuckle as she started the car. Lucy started the car up as they headed to the park. Layla raced out of the car once Natsu unbuckled her when they got there. "Come on!" she cheered as they walked slowly behind her. "we're coming , just go baby girl" said Lucy. Layla didn't argue as she grabbed Happy tightly and took off running. They went and took a seat on the bench in front of the playground as they watched Layla play. "I'm so happy despite everything that she has remained happy" said Lucy quietly. "You did a great job with her Luce. That's why she's like this" Natsu complimented. "Don't cut yourself short Natsu. I may have done good for a few years but there was no way after everything that happened with Evelyn that if it wasn't for you, she would still be happy…neither would I" Putting an arm over her shoulders, he laid her head on his shoulder. " Well I'm here now and always will be" he assured.

"It's because of both of us that she is happy" Lucy said proudly. He nodded in agreement . "The only thing I wish now is that we could take those scars off her back.. I mean I have mine but., she shouldn't have to endure them" She said looking down towards her stomach. "Hey, hey" he said gently putting a finger under her chin making her look up at him. "Both of you will be alright, these scars do not define who you are baby. They are just that, scars. Nothing more" he said understandingly. "Thank you Natsu" he smiled giving her a peck on the lips as he turned back towards the playground. Lucy was turning back when she saw Natsu's face get serious as he jumped up immediately. "Layla!" he yelled putting his hands to his mouth as his eyes darted around. "Natsu?!" Lucy said panicked. "I don't see her" he said as Lucy looked around. "LAYLA!" Lucy screamed. "ahh" she said in pain as she put a hand to her throat. "Damn it" she cursed in her head at the pain. "Stay here" he ordered as he ran towards the park. "LAYLA!" he shouted as the kids heard his tone and scooted out of the way. "Where the fuck did she go?. We only looked away for a few seconds" he thought. He looked until he saw a path leading away from the park. Quickly, he got eyes with Lucy. "Stay here!, I'll be right back" he yelled as Lucy nodded her head. He ran down the path as he heard something and ran until he stopped dead in front of Layla who was dancing with a butterfly around in front of a water fountain swinging Happy. "LAYLA" he yelled angrily getting her immediate attention. "Jesus" he said quietly as he ran quickly and picked her up pinning her arms to her side as her head laid on his shoulder. "Da..daddy?" she said confused. Taking in a deep breath, he turned around and walked back as Lucy saw them and ran over. "Baby!" she cried as Natsu very shakily put her down as Lucy smothered her wrapping her arms around her.

"Mommy.. .breathe" "Oh" said Lucy realizing what she was doing released her grip as Layla looked at her parents who had very worried looks on their faces. "Daddy?" she questioned seeing his hands shake. "I'm okay baby girl. You gave mommy and I a really bad scare" he answered. "I'm sorry" she apologized sincerely. "Layla, baby what on earth made you go away from the park?" asked Lucy. " I saw butterfly then. It was so pretty. " A BUTTERF-" "Natsu" Lucy cut him off immediately giving him a look as Layla held Happy to her face shaking. "Natsu, yelling isn't helping. What happened to you're okay" "I didn't know where she was Lucy!, for all we know she could have been taken" he said angrily as Lucy stood straight up at him and looked him in the face as he towered over her. "You need to go cool off." She demanded pointing her hand towards the parking lot. "Go" she said as he stared at her. Standing her ground, she pointed again as he huffed and walked towards the car. "Is daddy mad at me mommy?" Layla asked getting tears in her eyes. Squatting down Lucy said "no baby. Daddy isn't mad at you. You know how protective he is . He just..he got really worried. We both did" "I'm sorry mommy" "Don't go anywhere without telling us Layla, alright?" she said gently as Layla nodded. "Come on, let's go find your daddy" said Lucy standing up holding her hand out to Layla. She grabbed it as they went to Natsu.

As she saw the car, Lucy slowly walked up to Natsu as Layla dragged her feet behind her. "Natsu, are you better now?" she asked blunt looking directly at him. He nodded as he knelt down on the ground on one knee holding his hand out to Layla who was hiding behind Lucy. "Go baby" said Lucy gently nudging her forward. Layla took his outreached hand as he looked at her with a calm and gently face. "I'm sorry if I scared you sweetheart" he rubbed her hand as he continued. "I'm not mad at you. I wasn't earlier either. I just got really scared. If anything happened to you and mommy, I don't know what I'd do." "I'm sorry daddy" she cried as tears came down. "Aww baby" he said pulling her into him putting a hand behind her head. "Your alright Layla" he said kindly rubbing her head. Stepping back so he could see her face, she rubbed her eyes. ""I'm sure mommy has told you but just make sure one of us knows before you go somewhere okay?" he said in a serious but kind voice. Layla nodded saying "yes mommy and daddy" "Come here" he said pulling her into another hug. Natsu and Lucy looked at each other as they both let out a breath sharing the same thought. "What if we lost her" "Come on, let's go home" said Lucy. Natsu nodded in agreement as he released Layla who grabbed his hand as they started walking back. Getting into the car, Layla got in quietly as Natsu buckled her in.

He looked for a smile but didn't see one as him and Lucy got in their seats. Looking over at Lucy, he amusingly said "what do you think?" raising an eyebrow. "Just this once" she answered smiling. "Hey Layla" Natsu said getting her attention. "Want to get some ice cream for lunch?" he said happily as she perked right up as they thought she would. "Yes!, ice cream!" she yelled excited. "Okay" Lucy croaked. She tried clearing it but it hurt as she tried. She touched her throat " it was when you screamed wasn't it?" Natsu said knowingly as she nodded. "Come on, let's get both of you some ice cream" he said as Lucy started up the car. "That feels better" said Lucy once they got their ice cream. Layla was licking hers like crazy. Natsu looked at her and said "woah, slow down. If you don't.." but before he could finish, Layla put her hands to her head. "ahh" she grimaced putting her teeth together. "Oh too late" Natsu said lightly teased. "What was that?" she asked once her head stopped hurting. "That baby girl, was what is known as a brain freeze." Said Natsu. "It happens when you eat ice cream or something ice cold too fast. It freezes your brain for a moment" "It hurt" complained Layla. "Take it easy on your ice cream then Layla" Lucy said lightly as they went back to their ice cream.

After they were finished and went back home. Layla went and took a nap leaving Natsu and Lucy by themselves. "Well, what to do now" said Lucy. "Feel like we've done nothing but nonstop moving for last few months. Now actually having the time to crash..it feels weird" said Natsu leaning his head back to look at the ceiling. Lucy cuddled up next to him as she put her hand on his chest getting his attention as he looked back down at her. "I could think of some things to do" he said smirking at her as she playfully smacked him. " Not while Layla is here" she said rejecting his approach. "Hmph, fine" he complained as he huffed. "Oh stop Natsu" she told him. "Later" she said with a grin as his ears perked up and he smirked at her.


	15. Chapter 15

Layla woke up and went downstairs finding her parents asleep. Snickering to herself, she grabbed a big blanket from a chair and put it gracefully over them covering them both. Natsu was laying on the couch while Lucy was asleep on top of him. "You look so happy mommy, daddy" she whispered softly as she sat in front of them with a warm smile for a couple minutes then with Happy in her hands, went to sit in the chair and turned on the tv. "Happy look!, it's you" she said excited but quietly. She danced in her seat happy that her favorite show was on. She watched that, got up and got a snack and then when that was over, went and found something else to watch. Getting bored of tv after a while, she went and got some of her other stuffed animals and played with them looking over at Natsu and Lucy every so often to see them still dead to the world.

"Wonder how long it's been since they slept" Layla wondered in her head . It wasn't until that evening that Natsu rubbed his eyes and saw Lucy on top of him. He smiled a loving smile at her as he looked at her peaceful face then saw Layla out of the corner of his eye. "Hey baby girl" "Hi daddy. U two sleep for a long time" he suddenly looked out the window and saw the sun going down. "Holy crap, Lucy! Wake up" he said really surprised shaking her as she opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Lucy, we've been asleep for 5 hours! The sun is going down" Her eyes widened hearing him as she sat straight up and looked out then looked at Natsu again who nodded. "Told you, I wasn't lying" he said plainly. "Holy shit, Layla, are you hungry baby girl?" Lucy asked feeling bad they had slept that long without setting some type of alarm. "A little but I had a snack earlier" Layla replied. They both got up off the couch and headed for the kitchen and began opening cupboards. "What are you thinking Luce?" Natsu asked. "I'm not sure yet, keep looking..well I can have soup" "Luce, you don't have to strictly have soup, Wendy just said nothing hard" "You want to order take out?" "Hell might as well, seems like neither of us really want to cook" he said amused. Lucy pulled a pizzeria menu off the fridge and had Natsu pick what he wanted then she ordered something for her and Layla.

They went and sat back on the couch once they ordered. "I still can't believe we slept that long" said Lucy. "Yeah . no kidding. I don't remember the last time we slept straight through like that" said Natsu. They both looked down at Layla playing on the floor and couldn't help but smile at her as they entangled their fingers into each other's. She laid her head on Natsu's shoulder as they looked for something to watch on tv and watched until their pizza came. "Dinner!, you two hungry dragons" Lucy teased as Natsu and Layla came running as Natsu got his large pepperoni pizza while Lucy got their medium pepperoni, olives, sausage pizza. "Daddy, why do you get a pizza to yourself?" Layla asked him confused. "Because your daddy is a bottomless pit Layla and would eat this pizza without even thinking about it so he get's his own" Lucy said as Natsu had his face stuffed with pizza to be able to answer. She shook her head as they started laughing at him. "What?" he said , his mouth full as Layla pointed to the sauce and pepperoni around his mouth. Swallowing, he said "guess I'm a bit of a slob huh?" Lucy gave him a look that said "we both know you are" while Layla just sat there laughing at him causing them to start again.

When they finally stopped laughing, they finished up their pieces while Natsu still had a few pieces left. He put them away and went to join the girls in the living room. "So what movie are we watching tonight?" he asked them. "Hmm, how about fast and furious?" "She didn't even think twice about not watching movie with singing" Natsu thought sadly to himself as Lucy put in the movie and had Layla snuggle in between them. He would glance over at Lucy every so often watching her face but it showed no signs of sadness at all. "I know she's just burying it. hopefully this rehab will help her through that. " Okay baby girl, time for your bed" said Lucy as Layla yawned. "Okay mommy" she said as she rubbed her eye. Natsu leaned forward and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight baby girl" he said softly. She smiled a small cute smile "I love you daddy" "Love you too . Get some sleep baby dragon" he said as she grabbed Lucy's hand and walked upstairs with her.

Lucy came back down a few minutes later. "All tucked in" "yep" answered Lucy as she sat back down on the couch and into Natsu's arms. " Want to watch something else?" he asked."Nahh, we should try and get some sleep or we are going to be up all night" she said getting back up off the couch pulling at Natsu's arm. "Okay" said Natsu turning off the tv as he let Lucy pull him upstairs where she took off his shirt. He smirked as he took off his pants as she undressed. Changing into lace gown, Natsu felt himself getting heated up as Lucy covered a sly grin with her hand. "You little vixen" he said enticed as he whistled at her as she gracefully walked over and pushed him down on the bed. Lifting his head up, he said "Luce, what are you doing?" She pushed his head back down as she started clawing down his stomach. " .uuuce. wwhat are you doing?" he stuttered as she slowly took his boxers off and spread his legs apart making Natsu's face go red. "Lu" but before he could finish, she stuck his cock and began to suck as he immediately began to moan. " .hhhhahahh…yessss" he moaned pleasurably. She began sucking harder as his legs came up with his hands gripping the sheets hard. She licked all around it as he wiggled a finger at her.

Obeying, she came up as he grabbed the back of her head and yanked it down as he stuck his tongue into her mouth laying a full kiss on her as she put her hands on his cheeks. Giving into each other's lips , they stayed like that until Lucy let go and slid herself back down before Natsu could protest and began sucking rapidly on Natsu as he yelled in pleasure. "Lucy, I'm cccummmm" he said sweating and panting as she kept going until he let out a gasp as his cum squirted all over her. Grabbing a towel, she wiped herself clean as she got in beside Natsu who was still panting. "Tthat…wass unexpected" he said happily. " But your ready to go to sleep now aren't you? She teased as he shook his head. "Well aren't you clever?" "You weren't complaining" " My wife gave me a blowjob, why on earth would I complain about that" he said full of himself. "Come on now, let's get some sleep" said Lucy as Natsu yanked her towards him as he wrapped his arms and legs around her as she cuddled right against him. "I love you Natsu" "I love you too baby" Sunday came and went as Monday approached. They got Layla on the bus while Lucy sat on the stool in the kitchen holding her phone nervously. " I got it Luce. don't worry" he said kindly as he pulled out his phone.

Lucy gave him a small smile as he looked at the number to call. Waiting a few minutes, he got an answer "Hi , yes I need to know when I can set up an appointment. No, not for me. For my wife. Come in at one?" he glanced over at Lucy who nodded that was good. "Yes, one o'clock is good. See you then. He hung up as Lucy looked at him with anxious eyes. "It's all set Luce, we just need to be there at one. Thankfully it's not far but we should leave around eleven forty-five just to make sure we can avoid traffic and getting stuck." Suggested Natsu. Lucy looked at the time " nine am well might as clean up the house. Come on Natsu" she said relaxed as she grabbed his hand. He willing got up , grabbed a broom and started sweeping the living room. "Who knew a little kid could stir up so much dirt" he said amusingly, Lucy chuckled in response. They spent the next hour cleaning around the house before they went and got dressed and headed out the door. " You alright Luce? " he asked observing her slow hesitating movements getting into the car. She quickly nodded as Natsu grabbed her fingers and had a warm look on his face. "Hey, I'll be right there every step of the way and this is just a meeting so no need to get nervous" She smiled at his confidence as she sat back in her seat while Natsu followed his gps to the location.

They got there in thirty minutes. Getting out, they walked in and up to a receptionist. "Hello, I had an appointment scheduled for one today for Lucy. Can you please tell me where to go? Natsu said nicely as the young girl smiled at him and pointed down a hallway. "First door on your left" she answered nicely as Natsu said "thank you" grabbing Lucy's hand, they walked down the hall and opened the door to see a man that didn't look much older than they were. Orange, spikey hair, he wore a nice suit and wore glasses. Standing up, he reached his hand out to Lucy. "Hello, you must be Lucy. Nice to meet you. I'm Dr. Leo." She shook his hand "Yes, nice to meet you too" Letting go, Leo said "go ahead and take a seat." Gesturing towards the seats with his hand as Natsu and Lucy took a seat. Sitting back down, Leo said "no need to be nervous, this is normal in recovery" She nodded her head half believing him. "Now, what are we looking at?" he asked her as Natsu remained silent. "I want to do the day treatment. It works the best for me. I have a child and kids aren't known for their cooperation with these kinds of things, time wise so yes this is the best route" "Understood" he answered writing things down on a paper as his glasses drooped down. Sliding them back up, he said " Miss Lucy, if it makes you feel any better, you aren't alone Lucy's face went red as she said surprised "excuse me?" " Get your hand off her" Natsu growled as Leo take his hand that he very lightly placed on Lucy's away.

Standing straight up, Natsu glared at Leo who had a nervous look in his eye. Lucy stood up and put a hand to his chest. "Natsu, he was just trying to be nice, right?" she said questioning Leo as he stuttered "yy..yes" Letting out a huff, Natsu slammed down back into his seat. Clearing his throat, Leo asked "who are you? Natsu eyed him hard as he said "I'm her husband Natsu. Is that a problem?" "No, no, not all. Miss Lucy, what did you say your last name was?" "I didn't . My last name is Dragneel" "Dragneel? As in" "You got it pal, I'm the boss of the mafia in this town so I'm going to tell you this just once. Do not try to manipulate or fuck with my wife. Got it?" Natsu said harshly. In a clear voice , Leo answered "yes sir. I promise I meant no harm or disrespect to your wife. The people I have come in here often feel alone or uncomfortable at first, I just wanted her to know she wasn't alone" "She won't be alone, I will be with her through every step of this. Meetings included" he told Leo looking at Lucy who had a thankful smile on her face then returned his attention to Leo who put his hands together on his desk and leaned forward. "That is fine, we have meetings where someone can attend but if you cannot control your temper , I will have you escorted out and you will not be allowed to be in this room when we have the meetings" Lucy looked at Natsu with a pleading look as he let out a deep breath. " I understand. I want to do what I can to support Lucy" She whispered thank you as they both looked at Leo. "Before we develop some sort of schedule, I need to know the extent of your condition Lucy" "I'm not an alcoholic first off, just when I get drunk..I am not a nice person afterwards" She shut her eyes squeezing her hands as Natsu grabbed one of them and put it on his lap. "You can keep going baby" he said softly Opening her eyes again, she said in a quiet voice " I become harsh..I scream at Natsu..and this last one..i threw a bottle at Natsu's head" Tears started forming out of the corners of her eyes as she started sniffling. "Has it ever gotten this bad before Natsu?" Leo asked shocking Natsu for a second but he answered "No, I've always had no problem dealing with her hangovers but this last one, given what happened, yeah I struggled" he closed his eyes remembering as he then looked at Lucy and wiped her falling tears. "I see a bandage around her throat, can I ask what happened?" Natsu's breath tightened as Leo watched Natsu's body clench up. Keeping his anger down, Natsu said "I will not go into detail, some bad people had taken Lucy and they cut her throat" Leo's eyes widened as he said "I'm so sorry" Lucy nodded as a few more tears came down. "Because of those bastards…Lucy can no longer sing" "I thought you looked familiar, your that singer Lucy from Magnolia." Lucy shamefully nodded "not anymore" she said grimly.

Natsu lowly growled as he said "do we need to keep going or do you have enough for your paper?" "Oh no, that is plenty. I am so sorry you guys have experienced this. I think I have enough now to gather what happened. I think I know how we can set this up, starting next week , we will meet tues, thurs for the next two weeks and see how it goes from there. Is that alright?" he asked understandingly Natsu and Lucy nodded their heads as Lucy wiped her tears away . "That's all we need to do today, I'll see you guys next week" he said formally as Natsu and Lucy stood up. Natsu shook Leo's hand hard as he let go and walked out with Lucy with his hand over her shoulders. They got to the car as Lucy started sobbing. "Baby" Natsu said sadly turning her into him as she cried on his shoulder. She shook her head as she cried out "damn it!..why did they have to take my singing away" Rubbing her back, Natsu gently said "I'm so sorry Lucy." She stood there crying for a few minutes more when Natsu grabbed her shoulders delicately "let's get you home Luce" She nodded, her face all red as she wiped the snot and tears off her face.

He kissed the top of her head as he opened her door for her. Climbing in, he rubbed her cheek with his thumb and smiled a compassion filled smile at her as he took his hand away and started driving towards their home. Once they got out, Lucy dragging her feet walked into the house with Natsu and went immediately for the couch and laid down on it. "Luce" he said in a hushed voice lightly running his hand over her head through her hair. "It hurts Natsu" " I know" he replied knowing she didn't mean her throat. " I don't know if I can do this now" Quickly he walked over and sat on his knees in front of her. Grabbing her hand, he held it as he looked at her determined "Yes you can, you can do this baby. I swear I will be right there next to you Lucy. I'll keep my temper down..long as he keeps his hands off." Lucy looked at him with sadness and confliction. "Luce, I swear we will get through this. You don't need to drink to feel better. I know going there brought all this back up and I'm sorry for that but you and I together will get through this okay?. You have been amazing so far, don't give up baby." The sadness didn't leave her eyes, but she smiled at him. Seeing the determination, she had, Natsu grinned "Thatta girl, you got this Luce" he told her proudly. Sitting up, she said "now what?" "Now? We just relax and wait till Layla get's home then we have your first A.A meeting tonight" said Natsu. "Who's going to watch her?" Lucy asked,

"Don't worry about that, I'll get Jellal and Erza to come over and watch her." Answered Natsu with ease. "You don't think they have other plans Natsu?" "Luce, relax baby. If they can't, I'll call Levy to see if she can watch her" Lucy gave a quizzical look, " you have Levy's number?" she asked confused. Natsu smirked and said "she works for the mafia at times Luce, Need to have her contact info in case I need her" Completely dumbfounded, Lucy shook her head. "wow, didn't realize you had that much of a reach" "I'm the leader Lucy, I can have as long a reach as It needs to be." They were silent for a moment when Natsu heard growling. "Ha, guess I don't need to ask if your hungry, your stomach already answered that" said Natsu amused. He went to the kitchen as Lucy sat on the couch while he put soup on the stove. After a little bit, he came over with the hot bowl of soup. "Here you go Lucy" he said with a smile as she reached for the bowl to grab it from his hands.


	16. Chapter 16

Layla woke up and went downstairs finding her parents asleep. Snickering to herself, she grabbed a big blanket from a chair and put it gracefully over them covering them both. Natsu was laying on the couch while Lucy was asleep on top of him. "You look so happy mommy, daddy" she whispered softly as she sat in front of them with a warm smile for a couple minutes then with Happy in her hands, went to sit in the chair and turned on the tv. "Happy look!, it's you" she said excited but quietly. She danced in her seat happy that her favorite show was on. She watched that, got up and got a snack and then when that was over, went and found something else to watch. Getting bored of tv after a while, she went and got some of her other stuffed animals and played with them looking over at Natsu and Lucy every so often to see them still dead to the world.

"Wonder how long it's been since they slept" Layla wondered in her head . It wasn't until that evening that Natsu rubbed his eyes and saw Lucy on top of him. He smiled a loving smile at her as he looked at her peaceful face then saw Layla out of the corner of his eye. "Hey baby girl" "Hi daddy. U two sleep for a long time" he suddenly looked out the window and saw the sun going down. "Holy crap, Lucy! Wake up" he said really surprised shaking her as she opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Lucy, we've been asleep for 5 hours! The sun is going down" Her eyes widened hearing him as she sat straight up and looked out then looked at Natsu again who nodded. "Told you, I wasn't lying" he said plainly. "Holy shit, Layla, are you hungry baby girl?" Lucy asked feeling bad they had slept that long without setting some type of alarm. "A little but I had a snack earlier" Layla replied. They both got up off the couch and headed for the kitchen and began opening cupboards. "What are you thinking Luce?" Natsu asked. "I'm not sure yet, keep looking..well I can have soup" "Luce, you don't have to strictly have soup, Wendy just said nothing hard" "You want to order take out?" "Hell might as well, seems like neither of us really want to cook" he said amused. Lucy pulled a pizzeria menu off the fridge and had Natsu pick what he wanted then she ordered something for her and Layla.

They went and sat back on the couch once they ordered. "I still can't believe we slept that long" said Lucy. "Yeah . no kidding. I don't remember the last time we slept straight through like that" said Natsu. They both looked down at Layla playing on the floor and couldn't help but smile at her as they entangled their fingers into each other's. She laid her head on Natsu's shoulder as they looked for something to watch on tv and watched until their pizza came. "Dinner!, you two hungry dragons" Lucy teased as Natsu and Layla came running as Natsu got his large pepperoni pizza while Lucy got their medium pepperoni, olives, sausage pizza. "Daddy, why do you get a pizza to yourself?" Layla asked him confused. "Because your daddy is a bottomless pit Layla and would eat this pizza without even thinking about it so he get's his own" Lucy said as Natsu had his face stuffed with pizza to be able to answer. She shook her head as they started laughing at him. "What?" he said , his mouth full as Layla pointed to the sauce and pepperoni around his mouth. Swallowing, he said "guess I'm a bit of a slob huh?" Lucy gave him a look that said "we both know you are" while Layla just sat there laughing at him causing them to start again.

When they finally stopped laughing, they finished up their pieces while Natsu still had a few pieces left. He put them away and went to join the girls in the living room. "So what movie are we watching tonight?" he asked them. "Hmm, how about fast and furious?" "She didn't even think twice about not watching movie with singing" Natsu thought sadly to himself as Lucy put in the movie and had Layla snuggle in between them. He would glance over at Lucy every so often watching her face but it showed no signs of sadness at all. "I know she's just burying it. hopefully this rehab will help her through that. " Okay baby girl, time for your bed" said Lucy as Layla yawned. "Okay mommy" she said as she rubbed her eye. Natsu leaned forward and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight baby girl" he said softly. She smiled a small cute smile "I love you daddy" "Love you too . Get some sleep baby dragon" he said as she grabbed Lucy's hand and walked upstairs with her.

Lucy came back down a few minutes later. "All tucked in" "yep" answered Lucy as she sat back down on the couch and into Natsu's arms. " Want to watch something else?" he asked."Nahh, we should try and get some sleep or we are going to be up all night" she said getting back up off the couch pulling at Natsu's arm. "Okay" said Natsu turning off the tv as he let Lucy pull him upstairs where she took off his shirt. He smirked as he took off his pants as she undressed. Changing into lace gown, Natsu felt himself getting heated up as Lucy covered a sly grin with her hand. "You little vixen" he said enticed as he whistled at her as she gracefully walked over and pushed him down on the bed. Lifting his head up, he said "Luce, what are you doing?" She pushed his head back down as she started clawing down his stomach. " .uuuce. wwhat are you doing?" he stuttered as she slowly took his boxers off and spread his legs apart making Natsu's face go red. "Lu" but before he could finish, she stuck his cock and began to suck as he immediately began to moan. " .hhhhahahh…yessss" he moaned pleasurably. She began sucking harder as his legs came up with his hands gripping the sheets hard. She licked all around it as he wiggled a finger at her.

Obeying, she came up as he grabbed the back of her head and yanked it down as he stuck his tongue into her mouth laying a full kiss on her as she put her hands on his cheeks. Giving into each other's lips , they stayed like that until Lucy let go and slid herself back down before Natsu could protest and began sucking rapidly on Natsu as he yelled in pleasure. "Lucy, I'm cccummmm" he said sweating and panting as she kept going until he let out a gasp as his cum squirted all over her. Grabbing a towel, she wiped herself clean as she got in beside Natsu who was still panting. "Tthat…wass unexpected" he said happily. " But your ready to go to sleep now aren't you? She teased as he shook his head. "Well aren't you clever?" "You weren't complaining" " My wife gave me a blowjob, why on earth would I complain about that" he said full of himself. "Come on now, let's get some sleep" said Lucy as Natsu yanked her towards him as he wrapped his arms and legs around her as she cuddled right against him. "I love you Natsu" "I love you too baby" Sunday came and went as Monday approached. They got Layla on the bus while Lucy sat on the stool in the kitchen holding her phone nervously. " I got it Luce. don't worry" he said kindly as he pulled out his phone.

Lucy gave him a small smile as he looked at the number to call. Waiting a few minutes, he got an answer "Hi , yes I need to know when I can set up an appointment. No, not for me. For my wife. Come in at one?" he glanced over at Lucy who nodded that was good. "Yes, one o'clock is good. See you then. He hung up as Lucy looked at him with anxious eyes. "It's all set Luce, we just need to be there at one. Thankfully it's not far but we should leave around eleven forty-five just to make sure we can avoid traffic and getting stuck." Suggested Natsu. Lucy looked at the time " nine am well might as clean up the house. Come on Natsu" she said relaxed as she grabbed his hand. He willing got up , grabbed a broom and started sweeping the living room. "Who knew a little kid could stir up so much dirt" he said amusingly, Lucy chuckled in response. They spent the next hour cleaning around the house before they went and got dressed and headed out the door. " You alright Luce? " he asked observing her slow hesitating movements getting into the car. She quickly nodded as Natsu grabbed her fingers and had a warm look on his face. "Hey, I'll be right there every step of the way and this is just a meeting so no need to get nervous" She smiled at his confidence as she sat back in her seat while Natsu followed his gps to the location.

They got there in thirty minutes. Getting out, they walked in and up to a receptionist. "Hello, I had an appointment scheduled for one today for Lucy. Can you please tell me where to go? Natsu said nicely as the young girl smiled at him and pointed down a hallway. "First door on your left" she answered nicely as Natsu said "thank you" grabbing Lucy's hand, they walked down the hall and opened the door to see a man that didn't look much older than they were. Orange, spikey hair, he wore a nice suit and wore glasses. Standing up, he reached his hand out to Lucy. "Hello, you must be Lucy. Nice to meet you. I'm Dr. Leo." She shook his hand "Yes, nice to meet you too" Letting go, Leo said "go ahead and take a seat." Gesturing towards the seats with his hand as Natsu and Lucy took a seat. Sitting back down, Leo said "no need to be nervous, this is normal in recovery" She nodded her head half believing him. "Now, what are we looking at?" he asked her as Natsu remained silent. "I want to do the day treatment. It works the best for me. I have a child and kids aren't known for their cooperation with these kinds of things, time wise so yes this is the best route" "Understood" he answered writing things down on a paper as his glasses drooped down. Sliding them back up, he said " Miss Lucy, if it makes you feel any better, you aren't alone Lucy's face went red as she said surprised "excuse me?" " Get your hand off her" Natsu growled as Leo take his hand that he very lightly placed on Lucy's away.

Standing straight up, Natsu glared at Leo who had a nervous look in his eye. Lucy stood up and put a hand to his chest. "Natsu, he was just trying to be nice, right?" she said questioning Leo as he stuttered "yy..yes" Letting out a huff, Natsu slammed down back into his seat. Clearing his throat, Leo asked "who are you? Natsu eyed him hard as he said "I'm her husband Natsu. Is that a problem?" "No, no, not all. Miss Lucy, what did you say your last name was?" "I didn't . My last name is Dragneel" "Dragneel? As in" "You got it pal, I'm the boss of the mafia in this town so I'm going to tell you this just once. Do not try to manipulate or fuck with my wife. Got it?" Natsu said harshly. In a clear voice , Leo answered "yes sir. I promise I meant no harm or disrespect to your wife. The people I have come in here often feel alone or uncomfortable at first, I just wanted her to know she wasn't alone" "She won't be alone, I will be with her through every step of this. Meetings included" he told Leo looking at Lucy who had a thankful smile on her face then returned his attention to Leo who put his hands together on his desk and leaned forward. "That is fine, we have meetings where someone can attend but if you cannot control your temper , I will have you escorted out and you will not be allowed to be in this room when we have the meetings" Lucy looked at Natsu with a pleading look as he let out a deep breath. " I understand. I want to do what I can to support Lucy" She whispered thank you as they both looked at Leo. "Before we develop some sort of schedule, I need to know the extent of your condition Lucy" "I'm not an alcoholic first off, just when I get drunk..I am not a nice person afterwards" She shut her eyes squeezing her hands as Natsu grabbed one of them and put it on his lap. "You can keep going baby" he said softly Opening her eyes again, she said in a quiet voice " I become harsh..I scream at Natsu..and this last one..i threw a bottle at Natsu's head" Tears started forming out of the corners of her eyes as she started sniffling. "Has it ever gotten this bad before Natsu?" Leo asked shocking Natsu for a second but he answered "No, I've always had no problem dealing with her hangovers but this last one, given what happened, yeah I struggled" he closed his eyes remembering as he then looked at Lucy and wiped her falling tears. "I see a bandage around her throat, can I ask what happened?" Natsu's breath tightened as Leo watched Natsu's body clench up. Keeping his anger down, Natsu said "I will not go into detail, some bad people had taken Lucy and they cut her throat" Leo's eyes widened as he said "I'm so sorry" Lucy nodded as a few more tears came down. "Because of those bastards…Lucy can no longer sing" "I thought you looked familiar, your that singer Lucy from Magnolia." Lucy shamefully nodded "not anymore" she said grimly.

Natsu lowly growled as he said "do we need to keep going or do you have enough for your paper?" "Oh no, that is plenty. I am so sorry you guys have experienced this. I think I have enough now to gather what happened. I think I know how we can set this up, starting next week , we will meet tues, thurs for the next two weeks and see how it goes from there. Is that alright?" he asked understandingly Natsu and Lucy nodded their heads as Lucy wiped her tears away . "That's all we need to do today, I'll see you guys next week" he said formally as Natsu and Lucy stood up. Natsu shook Leo's hand hard as he let go and walked out with Lucy with his hand over her shoulders. They got to the car as Lucy started sobbing. "Baby" Natsu said sadly turning her into him as she cried on his shoulder. She shook her head as she cried out "damn it!..why did they have to take my singing away" Rubbing her back, Natsu gently said "I'm so sorry Lucy." She stood there crying for a few minutes more when Natsu grabbed her shoulders delicately "let's get you home Luce" She nodded, her face all red as she wiped the snot and tears off her face.

He kissed the top of her head as he opened her door for her. Climbing in, he rubbed her cheek with his thumb and smiled a compassion filled smile at her as he took his hand away and started driving towards their home. Once they got out, Lucy dragging her feet walked into the house with Natsu and went immediately for the couch and laid down on it. "Luce" he said in a hushed voice lightly running his hand over her head through her hair. "It hurts Natsu" " I know" he replied knowing she didn't mean her throat. " I don't know if I can do this now" Quickly he walked over and sat on his knees in front of her. Grabbing her hand, he held it as he looked at her determined "Yes you can, you can do this baby. I swear I will be right there next to you Lucy. I'll keep my temper down..long as he keeps his hands off." Lucy looked at him with sadness and confliction. "Luce, I swear we will get through this. You don't need to drink to feel better. I know going there brought all this back up and I'm sorry for that but you and I together will get through this okay?. You have been amazing so far, don't give up baby." The sadness didn't leave her eyes, but she smiled at him. Seeing the determination, she had, Natsu grinned "Thatta girl, you got this Luce" he told her proudly. Sitting up, she said "now what?" "Now? We just relax and wait till Layla get's home then we have your first A.A meeting tonight" said Natsu. "Who's going to watch her?" Lucy asked,

"Don't worry about that, I'll get Jellal and Erza to come over and watch her." Answered Natsu with ease. "You don't think they have other plans Natsu?" "Luce, relax baby. If they can't, I'll call Levy to see if she can watch her" Lucy gave a quizzical look, " you have Levy's number?" she asked confused. Natsu smirked and said "she works for the mafia at times Luce, Need to have her contact info in case I need her" Completely dumbfounded, Lucy shook her head. "wow, didn't realize you had that much of a reach" "I'm the leader Lucy, I can have as long a reach as It needs to be." They were silent for a moment when Natsu heard growling. "Ha, guess I don't need to ask if your hungry, your stomach already answered that" said Natsu amused. He went to the kitchen as Lucy sat on the couch while he put soup on the stove. After a little bit, he came over with the hot bowl of soup. "Here you go Lucy" he said with a smile as she reached for the bowl to grab it from his hands.


	17. Chapter 17

He went and sat down next to her as she slurped her soup. "are you not hungry?" she asked. "Nahh, not right now besides I still have pizza when I do." He said relaxed. " Eat your soup Luce, I'm fine" he said with a chuckle as she got back to her soup. Soon after that, they heard the bus pull up as Layla went running off the bus and straight into Lucy's arms. "Mommy!, daddy!" she yelled happily with a giant grin on her face. "Hey baby girl" Lucy cooed. "Did you have a good day at school then?" she asked as Layla nodded. "That's great Layla" said Natsu. Layla jumped from Lucy's arms and ran up to her room. Throwing the backpack to the side, she grabbed Happy and dashed back down the stairs and straight into Natsu who looked down and laughed. "Well hello" she looked up and gave him a goofy toothy grin as he shook his head and picked her up. "Hi baby dragon" he greeted nicely as she hugged him tight. After a minute, he put her down but squatted down to face her.

"What is it daddy?" "Mommy and I have to go out later tonight, I'm not sure how long we will be gone but you need to behave for who we get to come watch you alright?" She nodded obediently as she said "who is coming over?" "Still trying to figure that out" he answered as he pulled out his phone and dialed Erza. "What's up sir?" "No need to sound so formal Erza, relax" Natsu said lightly. He heard her sigh as she said more relaxed "what's up Natsu? "Better, hey are you and Jellal doing anything tonight?" "Not as far as I know, why?" "Can you guys come over and watch Layla for a few hours? " Sure, is something going on?" Walking away so Layla wouldn't overhear. "I'm taking Lucy to her first A.A meeting" he said quietly. "Is she ready for that?" she asked slightly concerned. "She made it through her first therapy session , I think she will be fine. Plus she won't be in there alone, I'll be with her" he said reassuringly "Oh good, I'm glad" she replied " So are you guys to watch her?. I don't want to interrupt any plans you guys have" "No worries Natsu, what time do you want us there?" "Let's say five." "Sounds good, see you then" said Erza then hung up as Natsu walked back over to Lucy and Layla. "Erza and Jellal are coming over to watch you" Natsu informed them. "When?" they asked. "They wont be here till five so that gives us some time together" Layla smiled as he said that.

She motioned for him to come over as she patted the couch hard. Sitting down, he said "so what now?" he looked at Lucy and Layla for an answer amused as they gave him puzzled looks . "Welll" he said mischievously. Raising his hands up, he said "If no one has an answer, that means one thing" "What?" the girls said in unison as Natsu brought his hands down quickly on Layla as she busted out laughing as he tickled her everywhere. "Daa..daddyy..noooooooooo" she cried out through laughs as Lucy smiled and started tickling her with him. "Noooo..hahhahha..mmmmommy..Save me!" "Oh no baby girl. Sorry mommy isn't saving you this time" she confessed as Natsu lifted Layla's shirt and blew on her stomach making her scream in laughter . He stopped suddenly letting Layla catch her breath as he took off running grabbing Lucy's hand and pulling her with him. "Come and get us!" he teased as Lucy giggled. Layla let out a breath and jumped off the couch. "I'm coming for you mommy and daddy!" she yelled determined as she raced around to try to catch up to them. "Gotta be faster then that baby dragon" he said as Lucy grinned at him and kept running with him. Layla picked her speed some as she caught Lucy's shirt making them stop. "FOUND YOU!" she screamed with joy "Yes you did, great job Layla" said Lucy. "Now it's our turn to find you, go on, go hide" Natsu told her cheerfully as she listened and darted around the house. "Hide and seek?" said Lucy amused as Natsu shrugged his shoulders. "What happened to not knowing what to do" "Hehe, maybe this was my plan all along" he said cleverly. " You're a sneak you know that" "Yep and you love me for it" he said boldly as he had them close their eyes and began counting. They played together right up until they heard a knock on the door surprising them. "What time is it? " asked Lucy. Pulling out his phone, Natsu said " damn, it's five already. Come in you guys!" he yelled towards the door as Erza and Jellal came walking in.

"You two are panting, you guys alright? Jellal asked amused. "Yeah, we've been playing with Layla..and guess time got away from us" answered Lucy. "That's alright, nothing compares to spending time with your children" Erza said heartfelt. "Your going to be an amazing mother someday" complimented Natsu. Erza's cheeks blushed as Lucy nodded in agreement. "With how you guys are with Layla, your child is going to be so loved" said Lucy. "Thanks guys" said Jellal. "Come on Lucy, we need to get going" reminded Natsu.

She walked over to get her shoes on as Natsu slipped on his and grabbed his car keys. Layla walked over to them as they both kissed her on the cheek. "Be good for your aunt and uncle okay?" asked Lucy. "Yes mommy" she replied as she ran over to them as Jellal picked her up and held her with one arm. "Love you Layla" Natsu and Lucy said in unison. "Love you too!" she replied waving to them. Lucy waved as Natsu closed the door behind them. "How far is this place? "It's an hour away. It's why I called them over early so incase we get lost; we have time to get back on track" explained Natsu. "Good thinking" replied Lucy. "Are you going to be okay?" he asked serious once they had been on the road for a while. "I should be fine" Grabbing her hand, he squeezed it to assure her. "I'll be right there. And just because we are going, it doesn't mean that you have to say anything. This is the first one Luce. You don't have to say anything you don't want too" Squeezing his hand back, she said "thank you" as he smirked at her. "Look, we're here" he announced as they got out. "We came all the way to a church for this?" questioned Lucy. Natsu lightly rolled his eyes and said "come on" lightly pulling her as she walked with him. She noticed quite a few people walking in front of them as they got closer to the church. They just followed them to the back of the church to a large room.

Walking in, Natsu stopped dead center. "You have got to be freaking kidding me" Natsu said mildly annoyed. Lucy looked and saw what he was looking at. Leo was sitting in the center as everyone was sitting in chairs around the room. Putting a hand gently over his , she whispered "relax Natsu..please" she looked at him pleading with her eyes. "I'll be fine, I swear" he whispered giving her a small smile as he put a hand to her cheek. "anything for you" he said softly as they walked towards the center and found a couple chairs when they noticed people staring at them. "Everyone, I want to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Dragneel" Leo announced standing up motioning his hand towards them as everyone gave them a eyes widened look. Natsu couldn't help but get a cocky grin on his face as Lucy elbowed him in the ribs. "Sorry" he said quietly to her but then eyed some of the guys around the room looking at Lucy. The look he gave them told them she was his and nobody touch her. "Alright people, relax, yes you know the Dragneel name but that's not why we are here. We are here for an A.A meeting. Everyone recite the serenity prayer with me" said Leo as he started " God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference."

They all said it with him as Natsu mumbled "she joined a cult..great" Lucy hearing him gave him a hard look as he crossed his arms like a little kid. "Just want to make sure this is a good place" he whispered. "I know and I appreciate but please try not to give anymore looks like that. Leo already made sure everyone knows who I am..and who you are I might add. Nobody is going to fuck with a mafia wife" "she whispered back to him. He got a cocky grin on his face as Lucy just shook her head and rolled her eyes as she put her attention back on Leo. "Alright, does anyone want to start?" he asked the room. They watched as someone answered and started talking. Natsu felt horrible for some of them as they listened to them losing their families due to their drinking, their relapses. "Jesus, this is freaking heartbreaking" he thought as he looked at Lucy whose face was saddened "and she's supposed to share what happened to her" he thought worried for her as he put a hand on her knee letting her know he was there. "Did you want to go?" Leo asked kindly after a while looking at Lucy who looked shocked for a moment as she struggled inside." Baby" she looked at Natsu who squeezed her leg in a caring and understanding voice said "you do not have to do this" she choked up as everyone looked at her with sympathetic eyes. "He's right Lucy, you don't have too" said Leo.

Shaking her head, in a cracked, teary voice she said " my..name is Lucy." Everyone said hi to her nicely as Lucy continued as she gripped Natsu's hand tight but he didn't mind. "I..I'm not a full alcoholic but there has become a problem when I drink." She closed her eyes hard as Natsu squeezed. "Take your time , there's no hurry" Leo said empathetically. Lucy opened her eyes back up and continued "I had something happen…ttt too mee and because of that…I my dream and " she stuttered pushing the tears she felt down that she felt welling up inside her. Natsu could see it all over face but didn't say anything. "She wants to do this, If I interfere, she'll break down completely" he told himself. "What dream if I may ask?" someone asked tenderly. "I..was..a singer..until my throat was cut..and now it's gone" she finished coldly. " I drank hard after that…and took it out on my husband. I used him as my outlet" Natsu saw a lot of people give her understanding looks that they knew what she felt. Her voice got very quiet as she said "I'm here..because I don't want to keep doing that to him. I don't want to drink anymore out of sadness and then take it out on him" "Well you've come to the right place, you are not alone Lucy. That I promise you" he said softly then in a more straight, clear voice said " I think that's all for the night. Anyone interested, there's a meeting Thursday and see you then" Everyone did a small clap as they all got up and walked towards the exit. Natsu got up and squatted down in front of Lucy who was looking straight down avoiding his face. "Hey" he said faintly grabbing both her hands, he pulled her up as she silently walked through the building. Getting to the car, he turned to her when she slammed herself into him surprisingly him for just a second as he wrapped his arms around. "Lucy" he said sad for her as she started crying into his chest. " Those memories…it…hhurtts" she cried. "I know.I'm sorry baby" he said caringly as he held her there. "Na..Natsuu. I'm …rrreeallly ssssorry" "Shhhh,baby look at me" he said as he cupped her face in his hands.

"I am not going anywhere..ever. You have apologized enough, don't let that keep putting guilt on you." He rubbed one of her cheeks with his thumb as she placed a hand over his. "I am so proud of you tonight Lucy" That brought a small smile to her face as she said "really?" "Yes baby, really. I saw how painful it was for you but you kept going and didn't let it stop you. Yes Lucy,I am absolutely proud of you." She sniffled as he pulled her face towards him into a loving deep kiss. Her grip tightened over his hand as she got lost in the moment. Nothing existed in the world for a moment but him. Her ever forgiving, wonderful husband who would move heaven and earth for her. The one she put through hell for five years then continued to give him a hard time but his love for her didn't lessen a single bit. She couldn't have found a more perfect man for her if she tried. He released from her and gave her a loving, passionate smile. "Wanna head home?" he asked. "Please" she replied. Opening the door for her, she slipped in as Natsu got in the drivers side and started the car up.

They got home and stepped quietly into the house. "Is she asleep?" asked Natsu. "Yep" answered Erza. "Poor little thing tired herself out completely" chuckled Jellal. "Thanks, you guys, really appreciate it" "No problem" answered Erza. "Lucy, you alright?" Jellal asked noticing how quiet she was. "Yeah..I'll be fine..just not happy memories to go down" she told them, they heard the exhaustion in her voice taking that as their que to leave. "Get some sleep you guys" said Jellal as they waved goodbye. Natsu locked the door behind them and then put an arm around Lucy's waist. "Come on, let's get you to bed" he insisted as he walked her up but Lucy walked over to Layla's room as she cracked open the door and smiled looking at Layla's sleeping form. "You'll see her in the morning baby. Come on you need some sleep" he said pulling the door shut as she sleepily said, "your right" and followed him to their room where she undressed and got into bed. Following suit, Natsu got in with her putting an arm around her stomach as he rested his head into her neck. "I love you Lucy" "I love you too Natsu" Over the next two months, it wasn't easy but Lucy and Natsu kept going to therapy and meetings twice a week until Leo seemed confident enough in Lucy to tell her that they only needed to come once a week to the therapy and they could continue the A.A meetings if they wanted but it was no longer necessary. Lucy had her neck bandages removed revealing where there had been a cut now there was long scar across her throat. At first, she didn't know how she felt about that as she knew people at the meeting would ask about it but to her and Natsu's relief, Leo had asked people not too. She had gotten comfortable with telling people about her drinking but her throat and everything before was still a subject Natsu noticed she wouldn't touch. "She'll say something when she is ready" he thought to himself.

It was one day when Erza, Jellal and Gray were all hanging at Natsu and Lucy's when his phone went off. He answered it as they noticed his face get serious. "This is not the…fine.. when the hell is this damn thing?" he said mad into the phone. "Got it" he said quickly pressing the hang up button hard. "Natsu?" said everyone in unison. "We have a meeting to go too Erza" stated Natsu. "Your my second so that means you too" "A meeting? they don't call those very often. Did they say what it was about?" "No" Natsu sniped. "But I didn't care to ask." Letting out a breath, he walked over to Lucy. "Are you going to be alright if I go?" he asked genuine. " You don't really have a choice Natsu" Shaking his head, he said "screw the mafia..you didn't answer my question Luce. Are you going to be alright?" "I'll be fine" she answered but Natsu wasn't fully convinced. "When do you have to leave?" "Hmph, tomorrow morning. I'll be back the day after" he answered annoyed. "Do mafia meetings usually take two days Erza?" Lucy asked looking over at her. "Not always but it depends on what they want to talk about. This will be Natsu's first meeting as official leader of the Magnolia mafia. The big bosses more then likely want to talk to him and see how he is doing and to see if he is fit…which means no blowing your temper" she said eyeing Natsu intensely. "Hmph" "Natsu, this is not something to scoff at or make fun of. Your father was one of the big bosses and no one has ever come close to filling his shoes. You taking the position of leader of Magnolia is a step closer to that" she said enlightening them all.

"Are you serious Erza?" Lucy questioned as Erza nodded firmly. "Yes, if Natsu keeps the order like he has been, there's a good chance he could move up to one of the big bosses .To remind you the big bosses are the ones higher then the mafia leaders. They are the ones in charge of everything, not just their area. They determine who lives and dies and Natsu I'm sure has drawn a lot of attention lately. He needs to watch himself" She looked straight at him with no question that he should listen to her. Slyly laughing between his teeth, he said "Erza..before you step out of line, let me remind you that you of all people know exactly why I acted the way I did…END only came out because Lucy was threatened" "I know, I meant no disrespect Natsu" she said as he looked at her sharply. "Sir" she corrected quickly.

"I get what your saying Erza, I'll keep my temper in check, long as the blowhards don't give me a reason not too" said Natsu. They all stood there for a moment as they all took a breath relaxing them when they heard the bus. "DADDY, MOMMY!" she screamed happily. "Back here baby girl!" Natsu yelled as Layla came zooming through the house outside into Natsu's arms. Holding her, she hugged his neck hard as Lucy came over smiling. Layla looked cheerfully at her as she held a arm out bringing her into a big group hug between the three of them. Lucy rubbed her nose against Layla's making her giggle warming Natsu's heart. "I love that sound" he said warmly. "Did you have a good day?" Lucy asked. "Yes!" she said excited. "We had an ice cream party!" "An ice cream party?" Gray, Jellal and Erza said in unison. "Oh no" said Lucy and Natsu dreadfully. Putting Layla down, they watched as she raced around the back yard. "Oh god" Lucy said lightly putting a hand to her head as she shook it. Putting hands on her shoulders, Natsu said "don't worry Luce. with everyone here, we're bound to tire her out quick…it's my hope anyway" Everyone got to playing with her as Natsu and Lucy cooked dinner then when they were done, they played with her until they saw her finally starting to crash as she started to fall but Gray grabbed her before she hit the ground. "You tired munchkin?" She shook her head in protest and made a sound. Everyone laughed quietly as Natsu and Lucy walked over.

"Oh yes you are, my little dragon" teased Natsu as he picked her up from Gray and laid her against his shoulder. "Let's call it a night guys, you and Erza have a long day tomorrow" said Jellal as he ushered everyone inside. "Gray, stay put for a second. Have a goodnight guys" Natsu said nicely to Erza and Jellal as they waved and said goodbye to them. Natsu headed upstairs with Lucy and Layla as he gently put her in her bed and tucked her in grabbing Happy and tucking him into her arms as she made a cute yawn and turned over on her side making Natsu and Lucy giddy inside. They tiptoed out of her room as Natsu said "go on to bed Luce. I'll be there in a second" "Okay" she answered giving him a kiss on his cheek making him blush . He touched where she kissed him for a minute before he went back downstairs. "What's up?" asked Gray. Natsu nodded towards the door as they both stepped out of it. "I need you to watch Lucy while I'm gone." "Watch for what?" "Anything, she's been doing really good, but this is the first I've been away since she started therapy. She hasn't been tempted to get any beer, but I don't want my being gone to be a reason for her to get some" "Do you not trust her?" "Of course I trust her, look can you just watch over her while I'm gone please?" "You got it man. Just wanted to make sure it was for the right reasons" said Gray. "I do trust her Gray, I just want her to know someone is there if I'm not" he said compassionately. "I understand. Don't worry, she will be fine. I've noticed she's doing good too. Two days won't mean a thing" Gray said confidently. "Thanks Gray, See you in the morning" "Will do" he nodded his head to Natsu and left.

Crawling up into the bed, Lucy laid her head on Natsu's chest. "What was that about?" she asked. "Natsu?" she asked after he didn't answer for a minute. " I just asked Gray if he could watch out for you . That's all. You've done wonderful these last two months Luce. Just didn't want my not being there to affect you" he told her honestly. "I promise I won't pick up a drink Natsu" she swore. "I believe you" he said with a smirk as he ran his hand through her hair as he looked down and saw Lucy asleep "Goodnight my warrior" he whispered happily to himself as he closed his eyes and waited for sleep to take him. Late next morning, Erza and Gray came over as Natsu got a small bag packed for himself. " You guys will only be gone a couple days right?" asked Lucy. "Not even that Lucy, we might be back as early as tomorrow morning instead of afternoon." Erza said optimistic. Looking up, they saw Natsu coming down the stairs. Layla walked over and stood in front of Lucy with Lucy's hands wrapped her neck. Natsu dropped his bag and crouched in front of Layla. "Can daddy get a hug?" he asked warmly as Layla threw her arms around his neck and squeezed tightly as he hugged her back. "I swear I'll be back in just a couple days baby girl" he said assuring her.

Reluctantly, he took her arms from his neck as her lip trembled "Layla, baby girl I promise…I know this is the first time I've left since everything happened, but I will be right back. I'm not going to go away. Do you believe me?" she emotionally nodded her head as he touched her trembling lip which stopped as he winked at her and gave her a heartfelt kiss on her forehead. "I love you daddy" "I love you too baby girl" Standing on his feet, he looked down at Lucy who put her hands on his chest. "Hurry back my dragon" she said with a small smile as he passionately kissed her but let go after a minute. Putting his hand to his chest, he said " I swear my warrior" She giggled some as he said "I love you baby" "I love you too. You guys better get going" said Lucy as Natsu leaned down and picked up his bag and trench coat. Erza and Natsu walked out as Gray and the girls followed behind them. "Make sure he behaves Erza" Lucy teased. "Oh you know it" Erza answered with a sly grin as they all laughed. Natsu blew Layla and Lucy both kisses as they did it back. Smiling, he gestured goodbye towards Gray as he got into the car with Erza and took off . "Well doesn't it figure the day they go is a Saturday and your off from school munchkin" said Gray cheerfully as Layla looked at him confused. "What does that mean?" she asked. "That means we can do whatever you want" said Gray as her eyes lit up in joy. "Really?" she said excited as she turned her head towards Lucy for an answer. She quietly nodded and said "yes baby. Whatever you want to do" "YIPPEEEE" she exclaimed. "The park!" she yelled. "Well go get your shoes then Layla" said Gray as she ran back inside. "Hey" he said quietly to Lucy who turned her head. "You alright? You were quiet back there" " Yeah, just haven't spent any time away from Natsu since everything happened. Almost feels like a piece of me is missing" "Hey" he said putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "He'll back soon. I'm betting he's not liking being away from you either" Layla came back at door ready as she enthusiastically looked at them. "Ready!" she announced making Lucy and Gray chuckle as they grabbed her hands and swung her as they walked to the car and Lucy buckled Layla in as she happily hugged Happy tight.

Once they got to the park, Layla as soon as she got out of the car ran for the playground as she waved for them to join her on the swings. They willingly went with her as they each sat on a swing and began swinging back and forth. It soon turned into a competition to who could go the highest as the three tried to outdo the other. They went fast enough to the point where Lucy had to warn Layla to slow down. She was swinging really fast making her nervous. She dug her feet into the ground halting her swing immediately and Gray did the same. "Layla Dragneel! stop now" she said sternly as Layla swung off the swing and landed face first in the dirt. "Layla!" Gray and Lucy yelled as they went over. "Mommy!" she cried as Lucy looked at her face and saw a couple scrapes but nothing horrible. "This is why I wanted you to slow down baby" she said gently as she hugged Layla to her as Layla cried. "It hurts mommy" "I know sweetheart, it will go away in a little bit"

She wasn't wrong because a few minutes later once the pain was gone, Layla was back to running around the playground but didn't get back on the swing. Lucy and Gray went to take a seat on the bench and watched her. "So what else do you want to do Lucy?" he asked curious. "I'm not really sure to be honest" she answered. "I could take you guys out for lunch, is that alright?" "Oh Gray, you don't have to do that" "It's no biggie, I promise" he assured as she nodded her head "Thank you" she said graciously. He nodded in response as she played for another couple hours. " Hey Layla, time to go baby girl" Lucy called out as she came running to Lucy. "Your uncle is taking us out for lunch" she said cheerfully as Layla jumped in excitement. "Lunch, uncle Gray, really?" Layla asked. "Yeah munchkin. Come on" he said eagerly. She grabbed Lucy's hand as they both ran to the car with Gray walking slowly behind them. Buckling her into her seat, she got in as Gray got in the passenger side. "So where did you want to go?" he asked. "There's a café right in town that we can go too. They have good food" Lucy replied. "Sounds good" said Gray. Lucy started up the car and drove to the café which was only a few minutes away from the park. Getting out, they walked into the café as Lucy ordered for her and Layla then Gray ordered for himself then paid. Once they got their food, they went and sat at a table outside with an umbrella shading them. "Thanks a bunch Gray" said Lucy. "No worries, like I told you" he said lightly. "How is Juvia doing?, it's been a while since I've seen her" "She's doing good, she's working a lot at the aquarium. She's enjoying the hell out of it" "That's great" answered Lucy. "Is it good Layla?" she asked watching Layla chomp down on a sandwich. She nodded happily while she chewed.

Gray and Lucy were enjoying their food when they heard girls singing. He watched Lucy's eyes grow sad in recognition. "That's my song" she whispered. "I know" he said sadly as they heard the girls stop and start talking "Where did you hear that song?" " I went to Europe a few years ago and watched Lucy and the stars perform" "Isn't she from here?" "Yes, and I was so excited to hear when she came back but then nothing happened. makes me wonder what happened to her" Lucy squeezed the fork in her hand hard as Gray lightly put a hand over hers. "Come on Layla, we are leaving" he said seriously. "Really?" "Yep, come on munchkin" he said calmly as he leaned forward towards Lucy and whispered into her ear "come on Lucy, let's get you home" She silently got up and walked towards the car not saying a word. Gray got Layla into her car seat as Lucy sat herself down. She was completely silent as they drove back to the house. "This is why he wanted me to watch her" Gray thought to himself. Getting to the house, Layla ran to her room while Lucy went to the couch and sat down. He didn't say a word as he sat in the chair next to the couch. "Lu-" but before he could finish, she shook her head hard at him silencing him. She grabbed the remote and tossed it towards him. Not knowing what else to do, he turned on the tv as he started flipping through channels until he found something that looked like got Lucy's attention, but her expression dropped making it hard for Gray to read and figure out what she was thinking inside. They sat there a while Lucy looked blankly at the tv not really caring what was on as she laid down on the pillow . Getting up, Gray walked over to get some water and brought a glass back for Lucy as she looked up at him from the pillow. "This will go down easier then beer will" he said lightly trying to get a smile out of her but it had no effect as she lifted the glass and took a drink before putting it back down. " Damn" he thought disappointed. "Guess it's a good thing I did say I could or who knows where she would be right now"

Eventually the evening came when Gray called Layla downstairs. "What do you want for dinner munchkin?" he asked. "fish sticks" she answered "Fish sticks? well alright, fish sticks it is" he said as he looked in the freezer and pulled out a bag along with a small bag of broccoli. Turning the oven on, he pulled a pan out to put the fish on and a pan to put the broccoli on. Once the oven was up to temperature, he put in the fish sticks on then waited for when he could put the broccoli on. "Is mommy okay?" she asked him noticing she hadn't said a word since they had gotten home. Looking at the back of the couch, he answered "your mom is hurting right now. Some people at the café said some things , not hurtful but said some things that have made your mom sad" "Is she going to get mad at daddy again?" "No Layla, that wont happen," he assured as he saw he could turn the broccoli on. "We just need to leave her be for now" he told her as they both looked at the couch. Once everything was ready, he got a plate ready for Layla and Lucy. Layla smiled a big smile at him as she thanked him and started eating. Rubbing her head, he smiled as he grabbed Lucy's plate and walked over. Gently setting it in front of her, he nodded towards her letting her know it was alright for her to eat. Her eyes were empty as she nodded telling him she understood. Finally, after a while, she got up and walked towards the stairs as Gray silently watched her go upstairs and disappear. "Damn, this sucks..and Natsu won't be back till sometime tomorrow" he thought bitterly. "They just had to do it..those girls had to say something right in front of her." "Damn it!" he yelled surprising Layla.

"Sorry sweetie" he said quickly as she went back to her plate. "I'm done Gray" said Layla after fifteen minutes. "Okay munchkin, go ahead and put it in the sink" he said lightly. Doing what he said, she came and sat on the couch with him. Twenty more minutes went by before Layla worried said "uncle Gray.. Shouldn't mommy have come down by now? "Yeah…she should have.. stay here Layla" he said stern as he slowly walked towards the stairs and went up. He saw their door was open as he stepped in but saw she wasn't in bed as he saw a light under the bathroom door. "Lucy?" he said concerned. There wasn't a word until he put his ear to the door and heard muffled crying getting his attention. "Lucy!, Lucy! , open the door!" he yelled frantic as he pushed on the door knob but it wouldn't budge. "I'm going to owe them for this" he thought quickly as he kicked down the door as Lucy screamed at him but didn't turn towards him. "Lucy, what are you?" but he stopped as he saw red.( moment – acoustic by roses & revolutions) Immediately ,he went to Lucy's side and pulled her arms as she yelled in protest. Her arms were covered in scratches as he saw her fingers covered in blood. "She clawed at herself" he thought as she yelled at him to let go. "I can't Lucy. Look what you've done" Shaking her head, tears streamed down her face as she laid her head on the floor.

"I have to tell Natsu" "NO" she screamed as she had a look of guilt. "I have too Lucy" he said continuing to hold her arms as she cried. "He's going to be so hurt" she said. " I'm sorry Lucy but I can't keep this from him" he confessed as he lifted her from the floor and walked her over to her bed. Sitting her down, she wept as he went to grab the first aid kit and began cleaning her hands of the blood she had under her nails. Delicately once he was finished with her hands, he began cleaning the blood off her reopened scars. Her face grimaced a couple times at the stinging from the cleaning liquid. Wrapping her arms back up, he looked at her as she lowered her face in shame and disappointment in herself. Heartbroken for her, he couldn't find the words to say, pulling her into a deep hug as she cried on his shoulder. Eventually she cried herself to sleep as he carefully laid her on the bed and pulled the blanket over her.

"Gray, is mommy alright? . I heard her scream" Layla asked once he came back down. "Not right now she isn't munchkin. She's asleep" he told her. "Let's get you to bed munchkin" he said nicely as she went up brushed her teeth and got into bed as he tucked her in. "Goodnight munchkin" he said quietly as he smiled and kissed her lightly on the nose as she snuggled into her blankets and went to sleep. Sitting on the couch, Gray put his lips together and blew out air. "This is going to fucking suck" he said out loud as he pulled out his phone. "it's freaking 9pm and I'm going to call Natsu. Your trying to kill me Lucy. Okay enough stalling let's get this over with" he told himself as he pressed speed dial on his phone. It was only two seconds before Natsu answered "What's going on Gray?" he asked immediately. "It's Lucy" "What the fuck happened?" he yelled. "She had a relapse" "WHERE WERE YOU?, WHY WEREN'T YOU WATCHING HER?!" he shouted. "She went to the bathroom man, I went upstairs and found her. She had cut herself Natsu" "Fuck" he mumbled. "Where is she right now?" "Asleep" "I'm coming home" "What?!" he heard the phone click off.

"Erza!" yelled Natsu. "What is it?" she asked concerned seeing his face. "We're headed home now." Natsu told her as he packed his bags and slipped on his trench coat. "Natsu it's nine at night." "I don't care" he snapped as he walked out of the hotel and to the down to the lobby where some of the bosses were gathered. "Are we finished here?" Natsu said blunt. "Why do you ask?" "Because my family is in trouble and I need to go home" Erza looked at him cautiously warning him as Natsu stood firm. "We will be keeping an eye on you Dragneel, we're interested to see what your future holds" said one of them. "Fine" Natsu mumbled as he walked out with Erza on his heels. "Natsu, I'm not sure leaving is a good idea" "Frankly right now Erza, I don't give a damn about the mafia or anything else right now. I kept my mouth shut the whole day while they lectured me on shit. No right now all I care about is Lucy and getting home" he said in a finality tone. "Lucy?" Erza questioned immediately. "Yes, still have problems with going home now?" he said sharply. "No" she replied firm. "Good, get in, I'm driving" he told her as they got in her car and took for Magnolia.


	18. Chapter 18

"Natsu, slow down" urged Erza as Natsu was pressing his foot down hard on the gas as fast as he could. "No" snapped Natsu. "Natsu, getting a speeding ticket on your way home is not going to help Lucy. Slow your ass down" "I don't give a crap about a damn ticket. I want to get home to my wife" he said turning hard forcing Erza into the side of her seat. "What happened anyway?" she asked. "I have no damn idea, that's part of why I want to get home so freaking bad, all I heard was she cut herself, I have no idea how bad" Erza watched as his face turn from one of determination to one of guilt. "Natsu" she said quietly Hitting the steering wheel, he yelled "Damn it!, I left for one fucking day and this happens. Fuck!" "Natsu, you couldn't have predicted this would happen, she's been doing great so far" said Erza. Gripping the wheel hard, he said "It doesn't matter, I shouldn't have left her right now" "You are on your way now, that's what matters" "Doesn't do me much good now…Lucy, I'm coming baby" he thought as he pressed on the gas again.

Natsu shortened their trip of two hours to an hour and thirty minutes as he rapidly pulled in his driveway. "Go" Erza said quickly as he ran out of Erza's car and up to his front door. Unlocking it, he walked in to see Gray sitting on the stairs. Breathing fast, Natsu said "is she?" Gray nodded as he said "yeah, she's still asleep. But you should go take a look" Getting his breathing back under control, he took a deep breath and quietly started up the stairs as Erza walked through and waved to Gray. "You two made good time getting here. Didn't expect you guys here till one am" said Gray mildly impressed. "You know as well as I do, nothing stops him when it comes to Lucy" Erza replied serious. "True" answered Gray as they looked up the stairs. Natsu walked in and made his way over to the bed where he sat on the edge of the bed. Carefully without waking her up, he lowered the blanket and saw the bandages on her arms. "Oh Lucy" he whispered full of sadness and guilt.

Her eyes suddenly twitched as she partially opened them "Na..Natsu?" she said sleepily. Shaking his head softly he said "shhh, go back to sleep baby" Her eyes closed again as she fell back asleep. He closed his eyes as he sighed getting up and headed back down the stairs. Giving Gray a stern look ,he said "tell me right now what the hell happened" Leaning against the wall, Gray said "we went to lunch today, honestly the whole day was good until then" "Okay , then what?" asked Erza. " It could have happened anywhere, we were sitting eating when Lucy and I heard a couple girls start singing" "It would take more then just singing to make Lucy do that" Natsu interrupted as Gray gave him a knowing look. "Your right, it wasn't just that they were singing, they were singing one of her songs then one of em started talking about seeing her in Europe and how sad it was she hadn't heard anything from her since. I had us leave and that's when" Natsu cut him off with his hand. "that's what triggered her relapse..Hearing her music" Natsu balled his hands out of anger at those girls, and hurt for Lucy. "Natsu, none of us including Lucy could have known girls would start singing her songs" Erza said calmly trying to reason with Natsu.

"How did she cut herself Gray?" Natsu growled. "She was taking too long in the bathroom..when I found her, she …" "TELL ME" he shouted. "Natsu, you need to calm down" insisted Erza. Natsu waved his arm at her. " I don't need to do a damn thing!" he yelled. " You want to wake Lucy up?" "Gray, finish" he ordered. "She clawed at herself Natsu, with her bare fingers" Natsu's eyes widened as Erza yelled "What!" Gray looked down as he said " there was blood on the floor..if I hadn't found her when I did, who knows what more damage she could have done to herself. Natsu grabbed the railing to steady himself from shock. "She didn't drink, instead she took the damage out on herself" he thought miserably as he slammed his hand down on the bar. "Damn it" he cursed at himself quietly. "She begged me not to tell you" Gray said remorseful. "What, why?" asked Erza demanding. Natsu sat on the bottom stair, his face down and grimly said "because she knew I would do what I just did..and didn't want me to feel guilt about leaving her" He dryly chuckled saying " no matter what the situation, she always tries to put me first..even when she's suffering..one of her faults. Damn it Lucy ,why didn't you just put yourself first"

" I did manage to clean her up..once she was done screaming at me not to tell you" said Gray. "What about Layla, please tell me she did" "She didn't see a thing, she heard Lucy scream but she didn't see anything" Gray said positively as Natsu let out a sigh of relief. "Did she go to bed easily for you?" he asked. "Yes" Gray replied. Rubbing his eyes, Natsu laid his head down between his arms on his knees. "Natsu, you should get some sleep. It's late" suggested Gray. " I can't e" "No Natsu" Erza cut him off. "You've been moving since early this morning; you haven't gotten to rest at all today. Gray is right, you need to get some sleep. Go up there, comfort your wife, and just help her through the next day" Erza said in a kind but firm voice. Submitting, Natsu sleepily shook his head as he stood up. "We'll call you guys tomorrow" said Gray as Erza nodded in agreement. "Alright, goodnight guys" said Natsu as he walked behind them to lock the door and then dragged himself up the stairs. Getting to the bedroom, he tossed his jacket into a corner and kicked his boots off. Yanking off his pants and socks, he left his shirt on as he climbed into bed.

He wrapped his hands around Lucy's stomach bringing her into him as sleep came to him instantly. The next morning Lucy groggily rubbed her eyes and went to move when she felt weight. She looked down to see arms around her making her turn her head to see Natsu still fast asleep. "I'm so sorry Natsu" she thought shamefully as she laid her head back down and put her hands over his. She went back to sleep for a couple more hours waking up to fingers curled around hers. She felt his hand turn her on her back making her look at him. "Lucy" he said with compassion and understanding. "Natsu.." she said , her eyes instantly tearing up. "Luce" "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you come home, I told him" He silenced her as he pulled her into his chest and held her there as he wrapped an arm around her neck and other around her waist. "Lucy, there is no reason for you to be sorry. I will always come running if you need me. It doesn't matter what it is. I am sorry I wasn't here when It happened" He could hear her muffled crying as he rubbed the back of her head. "Aww baby, we will get through this. Just like we have been doing" "What if I cant" she said muffled as he released her some "What?" he said not really hearing " What if I can't Natsu?" "No, you are not giving up. This was a misstep that's all. You have done an amazing job Luce. Don't stop yourself now" "Natsu, look at me!" she yelled holding her arms out. "Luce, you have been through hell that I wish I could have stopped a million times over but you pushed yourself through it. Not for me, not for Layla but for yourself. You did that" he told her proudly as she looked at him with red, teary eyes.

Putting a hand to her cheek, he said "we will get through this just like we've been doing. No matter how long it takes, we will get through this until you can get a bright smile back on your face" " I do.." she stopped turning her face away off his hand. "What, what baby?" Choked up, she said " I don't deserve you. I never have" "Heyyy" he said softly sitting up he pulled her into his lap, he held her in his arms as he pulled the blanket back up around her legs. She laid her head against his arm as he put a finger under her chin forcing her to look into his eyes that had nothing but warmth and love in them. " I have never wanted anybody but you, not once. My heart has and always will belong to you Lucy. You are my soulmate Luce, and I don't know what I would do without you. You may think you don't deserve me but I can tell you with one hundred percent certainty that you do. You deserve the world and I'm going to make sure you get it.. I love you, my heart" Tears overflowed down her cheeks as she made a happy cry. "Natsu..I ..Ill love you so much" "I know" he whispered as he brought his lips down for an unexpected kiss surprising Lucy but she melted into it. She wanted time to stop right there as she felt his longing and feelings for her through his lips. "Mommy?" they released hearing the cute squeaky voice of their child. They lifted their heads to see Layla standing there in her night gown holding Happy with one hand. " Daddy?" "Hey baby girl" he greeted as Layla's face lit up with joy as she ran and jumped onto the bed.

"Daddy!" she yelled happily as he grabbed her with one arm hoisting her onto the bed as she sat between Lucy's legs. He smiled ruffling her hair as she giggled. "You came home early" said Layla. "Yep, I did. I couldn't stay away any longer" Layla laughed until she saw Lucy's arms covered in bandages. "Mommy" Layla said worried. "She will be fine baby girl" assured Natsu. Looking into Lucy's eyes, Layla said "did you get sad again mommy?" Lucy couldn't help but feel guilt as she hung her head. Carefully, she lifted Lucy's arms up as she snuggled her way in wrapping her hands around Lucy. " You'll be happy again mommy. I'll help you" "Bbbbabby ggirl" she said through clenched teeth as tears started coming down as she wrapped her arms tightly around Layla as Natsu hugged them both to him kissing the top of Lucy's head. "We'll get through this Luce.. I promise. As a family, we will make it through together" She nodded her head smiling thankful for her loving husband and daughter. After a while, Natsu finally said " you want something to eat Layla?" She nodded. Natsu grinning said " pancakes sound good?" "Yes!" Layla yelled excited as she jumped off the bed. Lucy got up off Natsu's lap when he got out of bed. "Go ahead and get the stuff baby girl. We'll be down in a minute" said Natsu as Layla raced out of the room and down the stairs. "Crazy kid" he said amused shaking his head.

"That's our girl" Lucy said quietly. They silently got dressed. "Come on baby" Natsu said with an optimistic smile holding out his hand for Lucy. Taking it, they both walked down the stairs when Natsu cheerfully said "Whose ready to make pancakes" "Me, me, me!" Layla yelled from the kitchen. Natsu and Lucy walked over where he had her sit in one of the chairs next to the counter while him and Layla got stuff ready for pancakes. "Alright Layla, I need the eggs sweetheart" he told her as she went to the fridge and pulled them out for him. "Now how many do you think you will eat?" "A million!" "A million? that's an awful lot for that tiny body of yours" Natsu said in good humor going along with her. "I can do it daddy!, I take after you member? Least that what mommy says" attested Layla. "oh hooo. Touché, there little dragon. Alright a million pancakes it is" he said as he cracked a bunch of eggs together. "Okay Layla, next I need the milk, butter" she got those while Natsu grabbed the flour. Once he had everything, he mixed it all together. "Okay Layla, the rest is up to me. Thanks for the help sweetheart" She quickly nodded smiling as she went and took a seat next to Lucy. "You were a great helper baby girl" said Lucy. "Thank you mommy" said Layla. Soon the pancakes were done as Natsu pulled out three plates and put a stack on each. Handing a plate to Layla, he said "eat up little dragon. Here's your million pancakes" Her eyes brightened as she saw the stack. "YUMMY!" she screamed pouring syrup on them as Natsu and Lucy laughed. "Here you go Luce" he said in a kind voice putting a plate down in front of her. "Thanks Natsu." She said grateful and quiet "Woah, woah woah" Natsu said quickly making Lucy turn as Natsu grabbed the syrup bottle away from Layla who drowned her pancakes in it. "Your going to wind up in a sugar coma if you add much more" he teased. "Aww daddy, come on" she whined. " You have enough Layla" he said light but the serious tone was there. "Okay, fine" she surrendered digging right into her pancakes making Lucy and Natsu shake their heads at her. "Come sit Natsu, you've done enough" said Lucy. He went and took the seat next to her and started eating.

He was happily relieved when he saw Lucy eating. Small bites but she was eating which was enough for him. He felt his phone go off when he looked at and saw it was a text from Gray. "Gray's checking up on ya Luce" Lucy's cheeks blushed some as Natsu texted him back. "Oh another, Erza.. Jeeze, watch them be freaking together. I'm gonna find out" he said determined as he texted Erza asking if she was with Gray. His jaw dropped when he got a text saying yes. He snapped his jaw shut then said "why the heck did they text me separate then. Morons" Lucy giggled slightly getting Natsu's attention making him smile. "You done with those pancakes their you weirdo?" called Natsu as he turned himself towards Layla who hands were on her stomach as she burped then patted her stomach. "You are definitely my kid" declared Natsu amused taking his and her plate and rinsing them off. "I'm done" said Lucy in a hushed voice pushing her plate forward.

Taking the plate, he saw there was still a good amount left but kept it to himself. "At least she ate something, I won't say anything on that" he thought to himself scraping what was left into the trash. "You can go sit Luce, I'll clean up here" "No, I can help" she told him getting up and walking into the kitchen. Before he could argue, Lucy already unplugged the grill and took the washable insert out and began rinsing it. "Lucy, baby hey, I got this. I don't want your bandages getting wet" Natsu insisted grabbing for it. "Natsu, I got this" she said firmly. "Lucy" "No, it's just an insert" she said dropping it as water splashed onto her bandages. "Damn it" she mumbled under her breath. Natsu sighed and said "this is why I didn't want you to rinse Luce. I know you were trying to help but I could have gotten it. It was just a few dishes" She got a depressed look on her face as Natsu gave her a grin. "Hey, don't worry about it. Come on, let's get you dried off and those bandages changed." He put his hands on her shoulders walking her over to the couch as he ran for the first aid kit. Coming back, he sat on his knees in front of her as he softly grabbed at her arms and began unwrapping. Lucy was silent until he was on the last wrap. "NO" she yelled yanking her arms back.

"Lucy?, I need to change them baby" he stated as she shook her head. " please" "Daddy" "Stay there baby girl" he said to Layla who was still sitting at the counter. Looking into her eyes, he said strongly but caring "Lucy, you can't wrap them yourself..please Luce" Still shaking, reluctant, she let grab her arms and bring them back down as she took a deep breath and held it as he unwrapped the last bandage and paused looking at her wounds. His face unreadable as he looked at her arms. She let out the breath she had been holding and held back the cry she felt building inside as he looked at her tenderly and without saying a word began drying the scratches off. After a couple minutes, he wrapped them back up and had a loving smile on his face. "There, all set" She looked up at him with tearful ,thankful eyes throwing her hands around him shocking him, but it quickly went away as he closed his eyes and put his hands around her waist as she cried on his shoulder. " Luce" they sat there on their knees together for a few minutes until she released from him and put her hands to his cheeks. "I'm sorry Natsu" "No Lucy, you have no reason to apologize baby" he said soothingly "If anyone should be apologizing, it's me" he scolded in his head. "You were hurt and I wasn't there..to prevent this" he thought shamefully helping Lucy to her feet as he motioned for Layla that she could come over. She went immediately to Lucy and grabbed her hand leading her to the couch. Sitting down, Layla jumped up and sat on Lucy's lap as she rubbed Layla's back. Natsu stood there for a moment looking at the back of their head crossing his arms contemplating.

"There's no way in hell I can leave her be now but I need to do something to make her feel better." He leaned his head back against the wall. "That's what I can do" he realized thinking of something "but that has to wait till tonight..crap her bandages..I wonder if Wendy has any waterproof bandages" he thought pulling out his phone. He dialed Wendy who picked up after a few rings. "What's going on Natsu?. You don't call unless something is up" "Do you by chance have waterproof bandages?" he asked innocently. "Yes…why?" she asked suspiciously. He was quiet for a moment as he still had his focus on the girls. Layla was just talking with Lucy making him smirk. "Natsu!" Wendy yelled getting his attention back as he walked out of the room out of earshot. "Why do you need waterproof bandages? What the hell did you do to yourself now?" she snapped. "Hey!, for your information, I didn't do a damn thing and it's not even for me" he said highly irritated.

Taking a breath, he recomposed himself as he said "It's for Lucy. She had an incident and I need waterproof bandages" "Do I need to come over?" she asked immediately. "No. it's not that serious" he answered. "What happened" she asked sounding sad. " I wasn't here and Lucy got hurt..please Wendy, I don't want to go into it. Just please tell me you have bandages" he pleaded. "Yes" she replied. "Thank you" "When do you want me to bring them over?" "Whenever you get the chance. Just before nightfall if you can manage" he told her. "Nightfall? you got something going on?" Wendy said with slight enthusiasm. " Nothing that you need to know about Wendy. Just bring the bandages" he said in good humor hearing her eagerness. "You bet!" she announced happily. Natsu hung up satisfied walking back to the girls. "Everything alright?" Lucy asked "Yes, just asked Wendy to bring over some bandages, that's all" he replied simply as she eyed to see if he was hiding something, but his face showed nothing. He smirked at her knowing what she was trying to do. "Nice try Luce, I have a better poker face then you do" he thought cleverly to himself. "I'm not going to let you have my feelings on your shoulders as well baby" "Butthole, why won't he tell me what he's thinking or feeling" Lucy thought hard. "Layla, sweetheart, want to see if Happy is on tv?" he asked quickly as she looked joyful grabbing the remote and instantly flipping through channels. She flipped through until she caught a glimpse and screamed for delight as she landed back on it. She sat back in her seat happy as can be laying her head against Natsu as he rested his arms around her and Lucy who snuggled up to him.

He kissed the side of her head making her cheeks tint as she sat and watched with her family. Later on that day, Wendy came over with the bandages stepping inside their house. "Hey Wendy" Natsu greeted as Layla came over with him smiling. "Hi Layla" she said sweetly. "Hi Wendy" answered Layla. "Here Natsu, I brought the bandages over" said Wendy handing him them. "Thanks a bunch" he said taking them out of her hands. Wendy looked over at Lucy who had been quiet. "Lucy" Wendy said softly walking past Natsu. She walked as Lucy tried to hide her arms but Wendy shook her head very caringly as she held out her hand. "It's alright Lucy, let me see" Wendy said very lightly and understanding. Trembling, she held her arms out as Natsu got in front of her. "No Wendy" he said forceful shielding Lucy. Taken aback, Wendy took a step backwards. "She's been through enough" he said sullenly looking at her, as she looked back at him. Closing his eyes, his face turned hard as he looked back at Wendy. "No Wendy, I won't let you look at them. I told you over the phone they weren't bad enough that you needed to look" he said coldly. "Natsu, last I checked , you aren't a doctor. You have no idea if they are infected or not" she argued. "No but I am your boss" "Just in the mafia" she shot back at him. " That means you back off and know your place" he said with a low growl. "Natsu" Lucy begged in a small voice grabbing his hand making him look back at her. He knew what she was asking without her even saying it. Leaning down, he touched his forehead to hers. "Okay" he said in a hushed voice. Standing back up, he turned back partly to look at Wendy.

Calming his face, he said in a compassionate voice "please Wendy, don't make her show you. If they get infected, you will be the first to know" Wendy could see the compassion and the begging in his eyes as she said " alright, that's fine Natsu" He let out a breath of relief as Wendy smiled at him. " You promise to tell me if you need to look at them?" "Yes" answered Natsu without hesitation. "Okay, then I will take my leave.. take care of her Natsu" she said kindly as Natsu nodded. Layla waved at her. Closing the door behind her , with the bandages in his hand, he looked at Lucy. "Okay, Lucy, let's get you out of those bandages" "Why Natsu?,I already have these" "Please just trust me and take these off" said Natsu. Something in his voice got to her as she held her hands out. "There was a yearning and sadness in his voice" thought Lucy looking at him as he focused on changing her bandages which took a short amount of time then earlier. "Daddy, why are you changing mommy's bandages?" Forgetting she was still there, he tried to cover one as he took his free hand and covered her eyes. "Daddy!" she whined. "No baby girl, cant have you looking at this. Sorry" he apologized as Lucy gave him a thankful smile. " Just cover your eyes until I say you can look Layla" said Natsu strictly as he lifted his hand off his eyes.

He watched as she covered her eyes. She did it unhappily, but she did as she was told letting Natsu continue to wrap her arms. Quickly he wrapped them and then told Layla she could uncover her eyes. She crossed her arms and huffed at him upset she couldn't help. "Sorry baby girl, this was something you couldn't help with this time" he said honest and sincere. "Fine" she said irritated as Natsu chuckled. Later that night after dinner and they cleaned everything up. Natsu got Layla ready for bed and walked her up while Lucy having been asked by Natsu to sit on their bed and wait for him. Layla got changed and jumped into her bed as Natsu tucked the blankets around her. Leaning down, he kissed her head as he said "goodnight little dragon" "I love you daddy" she said happily making him smile. "I love you too baby girl, get some sleep" she nodded her head as she snuggled Happy and closed her eyes. Shutting off her light and closing the door, Natsu walked over to their room to a waiting Lucy. "Why did you have me wait on the bed Natsu?" she asked curious as he silently took her hands and gently had her stand up and follow him to the bathroom.

Shutting the door behind them, he walked over to the bathtub and turned it on letting the hot water run. It was a full-size bathroom with a jacuzzi tub and shower complete with two sinks for each of them. "Natsu? " she said feeling confused. He just smiled as he began to slowly strip away her clothes until she stood there naked. "Go ahead and get in Luce. I'll be in in just a second" he said as he went to the sink and pulled a bubble mixture out from under it and poured it. "Hmmm" Lucy said pleased "Smells like cherry blossoms" "I know, that is why we bought it" he said slightly amused as he undressed himself. She moved over in the tub letting him in. He sat right down in it when he looked at her. "Come here baby" he held his hand out as she didn't question anything but went to his arms as he wrapped his arms around her as she sat against him.

He tenderly laid little kisses on her neck as she titled her head back onto his shoulder closing her eyes. "Na" "Shhhhhhh" he insisted as she listened. "Just enjoy and lose yourself Lucy" he whispered as she fully let herself relax against him. "There you go" He slowly let her slip into the water fully as she came up a second later focusing everything on him as she wiped the water from her eyes. "Why are you so good to me?" she said passionately as she crawled to him then wrapping her legs around him. He put his hands around her so she couldn't fall then looking up at her, he said " because you are my star baby. You are the light shining in the darkness for me" She caressed his cheek as she loving said " I love you my dragon, my hero" then went for his lips as he melted into her kiss. He pressed her further into him deepening the kiss as he laid his head down against the tub. She released from him and had a look of complete adoration and love in her eyes making him pull her back into him. He bite her lip making her squeak as he slipped his tongue into her mouth letting it explore all over. Releasing from her for a second, due to the heat in the bathroom, he was sweating and panting he said seductively "come on Luce, this night isn't over yet" Intrigued , she let him up as he got up and wrapped a towel around his waist pulling a towel for her. He picked her up out of the tub and dried her off slowly landing kisses all over her body making her let out small moans of enjoyment. He smirked as he picked her up by her legs and held her up carrying her to the bed. Putting a hand behind her back , he gently laid her down on the bed then took off his towel.

He stood there in the dark leaning over her as she looked at him longingly. Answering her request, he slowly unwrapped the towel off her , never taking his eyes off her. "Why are you doing this Natsu?" "Because" he said quietly putting kisses down her legs as she succumbed to his touch and moaned a blissful sound. "I love you and I want you to know you are still beautiful no matter what" he told her then made her let out a surprise yelp when he started moving his tongue and eating her out. She grabbed at her pillows squeezing them as she closed her eyes tight completely in the movement. She felt nothing but bliss and heaven. "Naaatsuu" she moaned as he grinned for a second then continued. She twitched her body from side to side as he slowly made his way up her body landing kisses all over her stomach. Getting to her breasts, he caressed and sucked on them making her eyes roll back for tonight, nothing else in the world existed to her but him and his love she could feel.

She opened her eyes back up when she felt his hot breath on her mouth as he was inches away from her lips. He gazed her with passion, obsession as he pushed his lips against hers. She grabbed the back of his head and pulled at his hair as they kissed. They kissed until they felt themselves loosing energy. He carefully laid himself down and put his head on Lucy's chest as she ran her fingers softly through his hair. He sighed a deep, exhausted sigh closing his eyes enjoying her touch. "Thank you Natsu" she whispered listening to his little snore sounds indicating he had fallen asleep. Gently, she lifted him off her then laid herself against him putting his arms around her waist. She smiled when she felt his arms tighten. "My star, my warrior" he mumbled in his sleep. "Always" she thought as she succumbed to sleep.


	19. Chapter 19

Natsu woke up the next morning and found Lucy wasn't there. "Where Lu" but before he could finish his thought, he heard the bathroom toilet flush. "Ahh, never mind" he said to himself as he laid himself back down. Lucy came out a minute later, messy hair and barely awake. "Hey beautiful" he said nicely making her blush as she hid her face. "Hey,hey don't do that" he said lightly getting up and walking over. He put a hand to her cheek and slowly turned her head back around. "You know you never have to hide your face from me" said Natsu. She saw a warm smile on his face as she hugged him. "Natsu?" "Hmm?" "I'm cold" she said a few seconds later. "Oh crap" he said realizing they were still fully naked from the night before. "Ha, ssorry Luce. go ahead and get dressed" he said amused and slightly embarrassed. Lucy giggled and shook her head going to her dresser. She couldn't help but look over as Natsu was getting dressed. "His body is just perfect" she thought to herself not realizing she was staring. "Admiring the view Luce?" he said highly amused as she caught herself and looked away causing him to laugh. Getting fully clothed, he walked over. "Nothing wrong with loving what you got" he said with a cocky grin.

"Alright Mr. cocky, let's go wake up Layla" they both walked over and opened the door and found her playing on her bed with Happy and a few other stuffed animals. "Morning mommy and daddy!" she said cheerfully. "Hey baby girl." They replied. "Ready to get something to eat? And get ready for school? Said Lucy. Layla happily nodded as she left Happy and went downstairs with them. Getting breakfast, Layla ate it up and ran back upstairs to get dressed and ready for school. "What do you want to do today while she's at school?" asked Lucy. "Better go check on the base, make sure the bastards haven't done anything stupid" replied Natsu lazily. "Alright. Layla! ,bus is here!" yelled out Lucy. She came running down the stairs with her backpack on her back. "Ready mommy!" she announced. "Have a good day baby" said Natsu giving her a quick kiss as she ran out the door. "Love you baby!" yelled Lucy. Layla got on the bus and waved goodbye to her. "Okay Natsu, let's get going" said Lucy. Grabbing the keys, they went out and headed for the mafia base. Natsu walked in and started looking around as Lucy saw Erza and Gray hanging out. "Hey guys" waved Lucy walking over to them. "Hey Lucy" they greeted. "You doing alright?" Erza asked kindly. " I'm managing" she answered quietly.

Erza looked over and saw Natsu looking at them. "Hey Natsu, come over for a moment, I have something I want to ask you" said Erza. "How's everything look?" Lucy asked as he came over. "Seems fine to me, what do you want to ask Erza?" "How would you feel about MMA fighting?" " Both Lucy and Natsu gave her shocked faces. "Mixed Martial Arts fighting? It's pretty awesome..but why are you asking?" Grabbing Natsu's arm, she pulled him into a corner and looked him straight in the face. " I know you are still feeling guilt Natsu, I can see it in your face" Erza stated factually as he looked away. " Keep your voice down please" he muttered as Erza crossed her arms. "I was right. And that's why I think you should compete" "huh?" said Natsu baffled. " There's an opening in a couple days that I think you should take and think about doing. It will be a good way for you to let out your guilt rather then just going to the gym and beating the shit out of a punching bag." Said Erza. She looked at Natsu as he thought about it. "Sure" he said after a minute. "That quick, you don't need anymore time?" questioned Erza. "Nope, let's do it" said Natsu as him and Erza shook hands.

With a satisfied smile, Erza had them walk back over as Natsu announced to Lucy. "I'm gonna compete..are you alright with that?" He watched Lucy's eyes to see if she was hiding anything as she answered "yes. I'm alright.. I think it will be good for you" "Okay" he said giving her a hug as she returned it. "Just want to make sure I'm not worrying you" said Natsu. "Your fine Natsu" she replied. "What do I need to do Erza?" he asked. "Tomorrow we can go around and start your training for it. There's a lot to it that you can learn" she told him. "Sounds fun , damn, you were pretty confident I was going to take it weren't you?" " I had a feeling you would" teased Erza. "Well it looks like you've kept everything straight. Thanks, Erza" said Natsu nodding his head. "You welcome, now go on , get out of here" she said waving her arms at them. "We're going, we're going" replied Natsu and Lucy in light humor. Gray and Erza shook their heads watching them walk away. "You really think MMA is the best thing for him Erza?" asked Gray. "Natsu needs another outlet then just going to the gym. That guilt he feels about Lucy isn't just going to go away and this is the best way to let it out" "Yeah…just feel sorry for the other guy he's going to beat up" joked Gray making Erza chuckle. "You sure your up for this?" questioned Lucy. "Yes" he said firmly. "My question is, are you good with this? The training, my fighting, everything, I don't want you to think I'm leaving you behind..ever" said Natsu as they headed home.

"Yes Natsu, I understand. You can learn a lot" said Lucy confidently . "Alright..just checking..and we will go to your therapy once this is done" said Natsu. "Thank you" she said. "I love you Lucy..and you can come with us tomorrow if your up for it" said Natsu. "I love you too and you bet" Lucy said with some enthusiasm. "I'm glad to see your smile" he said softly as he watched her look out the window with a small smile on her face. The following day after they got Layla on the bus, Natsu and Lucy met Erza at an address she texted him. "What is this place?" he asked. "This is where you will begin your training" Erza said bluntly as she waved for them to follow her. "What kind of training will he be doing?" asked Lucy as they followed her inside. " Martial arts fighting has a lot of skills. Some stuff that I won't even attempt to teach you" said Erza. She stopped as they looked around and saw people fighting in different places all around the building. A older man in a martial arts uniform walked up to them and bowed his head. They respectfully bowed back. "How can I help you guys?" he asked friendly. "I'm competing in MMA in a couple days and wanted to know some training" said Natsu. "Are you familiar with MMA? Or competive fighting in general?" the man questioned. "Yes" answered Natsu. "I mean I know how to defend myself" "Alright, well let's see what you have then" "Come on Lucy, let's go sit down" said Erza as she pulled Lucy gently to a seat so they could watch Natsu. Walking over to a mat, Natsu took off his shoes and socks. Getting into a fighting stance, he took a deep breath as the guy motioned with his hand for Natsu to come at him.

Not hesitating, Natsu charged at him. He dodged easily pressing his arm hard on Natsu's leg causing him to cry out as he landed on the floor, Grabbing at his leg, he looked up as the man motioned him for to try again. Groaning, Natsu stood up and put his hands up again as he watched the man circle him then tried to attack him from behind. Natsu's instincts kicked in as he grabbed hold of the mans arms and yanked him forward trying to land a punch but the man blocked it as he tried to punch Natsu. Grabbing his hand, he left his stomach open as he rapidly punched it bringing Natsu to his knees. Lucy rushed over to his side putting her hands on his shoulders. "Natsu" she said worried as he cringed in pain. "I'm ffinne" he stuttered trying to get back up but his muscles screamed as he got back on his knees. "No your not. Stop being so stubborn" she said trying to reason. Clutching at his stomach, he slowly got back up. "Nnno Lluce..I to do this" he said wincing in pain. "You stubborn idiot" Lucy thought as she saw the determined look on his face. "Natsu, you need to stop" ordered Erza as he gave her a defiant look. "Excuse me?,. you're the one who asked me to do this in the first place" "I didn't ask you to hurt yourself." "I'm fucking fine! Jesus. One injury isn't going to kill me or stop me from training. And one more thing, you don't give the orders..I do" " he said annoyed. Erza took a step back realizing she had said all she could and that he was right. Lucy stood with her as Natsu tched at them as he turned his back to them.

"Sorry Luce, if I don't do this , the guilt I feel..i don't know if it will ever go away" he thought to himself glancing at Lucy with pity before turning his attention forward. The teacher was standing there ready and waiting. "Are you sure you want to continue?" he asked. "Yes" answered Natsu firmly. " I want to know all I can... Clearly I overestimated my strength." Said Natsu honest. " Alright, block my hand" he instructed. Natsu gave him a confused look but did as instructed as he down blocked his teachers attack with his hand. "Good. Now copy my movements" He went into a lunge position as Natsu watched and repeated letting out a breath. Lucy was very intrigued watching him as he followed the man's every word. "Okay now do that movement again and punch. Natsu followed quickly feeling confident in himself. He went on for a couple more hours.

"Do you have anything else you can teach me? This stuff is not that hard" "You feel ready to move on then?" the man said with an eye raised. "Yes, teach me something else, I'm good" Natsu insisted. The man just had a blank expression as he said "you feel so sure of yourself, fine" Natsu grinned. He went to teach him a few more things, some kicking moves and hand movements before he said "that's enough. Your body needs time to rest" he bowed his to Natsu who returned the gesture then walked over to the girls. "So how you feeling?" asked Erza. He grinned a happy grin and said "I feel great, I got this. I'll be ready" Erza lightly shook her head as Lucy smiled a nice friendly smile at him. "I'm happy for you Natsu" she said softly. "Thanks Luce. Come on we should get home. Layla will be home soon" said Natsu. She nodded and grabbed his hand as they walked together. "Ow" he said making Lucy stop. "You alright?" she said instantly. "Oh yeah I'm good. Just sore." He assured with a goofy grin. Putting his arm over her shoulders, she helped him to the car as he sank into the drivers seat the moment, he hit it. "That feels better. Sitting" expressed Natsu relieved. Lucy chuckled. "Catch you later Erza" yelled Natsu waving at her. "See you guys tomorrow" she said with a smile waving as she got in her car and left. "You sure your going to be up for tomorrow?" she questioned. "Oh definitely. I'll be good" "Natsu, maybe you shouldn't go to that match. Give yourself more time to train. You can do your first match when you have had more then two days to learn" Lucy said trying to reason with him. "Lucy, I'll be fine. Stop worrying about me" Nat" "Luce, drop it..please" he begged as she sighed. "Okay, just worry that's all" He smiled a warm smile as he placed a hand on hers. "I know baby but I promise I got this" She nodded believing him when he said "besides this is me we're talking about" he said with a teeth showing grin. "Yeah, that's what I mean" she laughed. He went and turned on the car as they went on their way home.

They got home minutes before Layla's bus showed up and she ran off it running straight to Lucy. "Mommy!" she yelled happily. "Hey baby" she cooed as she helped Layla take off her backpack then hugged her. Natsu came walking up making Layla yell "daddy!" "Hey baby dragon" he greeted running his hand on her head messing her hair up. "How was school?" "We had to learn math today daddy, it wasn't hurt my head" Layla complained making Lucy chuckle. Kneeling down, Natsu said "I know baby girl but you will find it useful when you get older" "But I'm not there yet" she pointed out. "I know" he said casually closing one eye as he smiled at her. "Aside from math, did you do anything else today?" Lucy asked. "Oh yeah, we!.." then she stopped suddenly. "Layla, why did you stop baby?" asked Lucy as Layla pointed her head down.

"Layla" Natsu said quietly concerned, she looked up at him with a guilt written face. "Baby girl, what's wrong?" he wanted to know "We sang…today" She quickly turned towards Lucy "Baby girl, don't feel bad about that. I am so happy you got to sing today" she said assuring. "Just didn't want you sad mommy" Putting her lips together for a second, she hugged Layla to her wrapping her hands around Layla's head. "Layla, don't ever feel bad about that..and I swear I'm getting there bit by bit. With you and your daddy's help. I'm getting better" she said honest. "Love you mommy" "Oh I love you too baby girl..more then anything in the world" She kissed the top of Layla's head staying there for a minute before she released. "You okay Layla?" Natsu asked caringly. Layla nodded her head saying "yes daddy" "Good cause your cat is upstairs waiting for you" he said with a smile. "HAPPY!' Layla screamed getting Lucy to let go as she ran up to her room. "Are you alright?" he asked Lucy serious. "Yes" she answered softly as Natsu gave an unconvinced face. "I meant it" she said so faintly it got his attention. "What I said..about slowly getting better bit by bit..just still hard sometimes"

He grabbed her hand and entangled his fingers in it as she looked up into his face. "I know..but like I said, we will make it through this together. When we go see Leo. How about we ask him about other options then therapy.. would you be up for that?" "No..but that's more reason why I should do it" "Lucy, I don't want to force you to do anything you don't want to do" "You aren't" she assured. "I love you" he said "I love you too" she replied reaching her head up to kiss him. Layla came running back down as she released from the kiss where they both smiled at each other. "I love seeing you two smile" said Layla. "Thanks baby" thanked Lucy. "Do you have any homework?" asked Natsu as Layla gave him a disappointed face "Laaaylla" he questioned hard as Layla looked at him. "Yeah" she answered annoyed. He pointed to the backpack. Layla huffed and begrudgingly went for her backpack. She unzipped it and pulled out a folder then walked back over handing it to Lucy then grumpily sat back down crossing her arms. "What do we got Luce?" asked Natsu. "It's nothing bad. Some English and some math but nothing horrible. Layla, baby this is nothing, come on, we will help" said Lucy getting to her feet. She pulled Layla up.

She walked over to the counter stool where Lucy and Natsu walked over to her. Lucy handed Natsu the folder where he quickly scanned it. "Luce, help her with the English, I got the math" he said lightly handing her the English. "No problem" she answered as Natsu looked over the math more focused. "Nahh, this is nothing... not like what Lucy and I have to deal with" he teased inside his head. Lucy was helping Layla read through paragraphs and pick out words in them. "Mommy, what does this mean?" "What?..oh , read these two paragraphs and find the synonyms in them..what the hell?" She got Layla's attention as her and Natsu both eyed her. Feeling Natsu's glance, she looked up. "Oh shut it Natsu" she huffed as he held in a laugh. "Mommy?" Lucy blew air as she went back to her paper. "It's asking for you to find words that mean the same thing" "Why the hell are they giving this to a seven-year-old" she questioned in her head. "Like this?" she pointed to a couple words. "Yes baby, good job" said Lucy cheerfully making Layla smile. "Do what you can then if you need me again, I'll be here" Lucy told her leaving Layla to work on her homework.

"Man, I don't remember it being that hard as a kid but then I was always rather good at English" Lucy said to Natsu. "Yeah, yeah smarty pants" he teased. "You can't say anything mister. You were always good with math, finances and anything with numbers or need I remind you" "That wasn't all my fault..Evelyn made sure I had a let's just say an expensive education before we met at school. Then my head was built for numbers thankfully or that would have just made it ten times harder." Explained Natsu. "I'm done mommy" said Layla. Lucy walked back over and checked it. "Nice job Layla, go ahead and put that in your folder then come back up so your dad and you can work on your math" Yes mommy" she answered getting up, she put the paper in the folder then walked back up where Natsu had switched places with Lucy. "This isn't too bad Layla. I promise" said Natsu positively. " You see this number line, count from this one here to where that dot is and draw a line to it. Go ahead" He listened as she counted quietly then looked up at Natsu hopeful "Is that right daddy?" He nodded "Keep going Layla, do those five then I'll help you with the next part" She put her head down to her paper and began counting for the next problem as Natsu stood silently near by waiting. "Daddy, I'm done" she said after a few minutes. He came back over and looked. "You went a little too far on this one sweetheart." She looked down and erased that one. "Count with me, one, two ,three, four ,five. Six, seven, eight, nine, ten,eleven. What's the number after eleven?. "Twelve?" "Yes, you see, you went two numbers over twelve. Just gotta pay attention to where the dot on the number line is" he told her nicely. She nodded understanding when Natsu said "alright, next , for this part , it's just adding Layla. You can do this part on your own. Don't doubt yourself baby girl, you got this. What's ten plus two? " "Twelve" "There you go" he said happily as he walked away letting her do her homework. They both watched Layla using her fingers to count then once she got the number, she wrote it down.

They were both proud of her trying. After a short while, she held her paper up and announced "Done!" Natsu looked it over and gave her a high five. "Nice job Layla" he said as she jumped down and put it in her folder. "Can I go play now?" she asked them. "Yeah, go play baby" said Lucy with a smile as she ran upstairs with Happy. "What do you want to do for dinner?" Lucy asked Natsu. "Hmm, you know honestly, I could go for some fish and shrimp" he replied. "I don't even know if we, oh well look at that, you got lucky Natsu. One box of fish and a box of frozen shrimp" "Cool" said Natsu getting out a baking sheet. "Hold up, I just thought about something, can you even eat this, with your throat?" asked Natsu. "It should be fine; the fish is soft, and shrimp is easy" assured Lucy. "Just checking. Okay let's get this going" he said turning on the oven to heat it up. Once it was up and heated, they stuck the fish and shrimp in and watched something while waiting for the food to cook. An hour went by before Lucy yelled "Layla! come down baby girl, dinner is ready" She heard footsteps slamming down the stairs as Layla zoomed up to her chair as she climbed up onto it ready as can be to eat. Lucy got out plates for everyone as she used a spatula to scoop fish and shrimp. Giving Layla her plate, Layla blew on her fish as she cut it and ate. "Thanks Luce" Natsu said with his mouth stuffed. Chuckling, she shook her head playfully.

Once they had finished eating and put everything away, they all crowded onto the couch and watched a movie. Lucy poked at Natsu when she saw him doze off. "What, huh? Im awake" "Natsu" she whispered softly. "your falling asleep, I think that workout finally caught up to you. Come on, you should get to bed. You have a long day tomorrow" urged Lucy. "Your right..alright baby dragon, time for bed" he said as Layla yawned cutely and looked at them sleepily. "Come on sleepyhead" said Lucy as she picked Layla up and carried her to her room. "Goodnight mommy" she said after Lucy tucked her in and was at her doorway. "Goodnight my sweetheart. I love you" she said sweetly. "I love you too mommy" Closing the door, Lucy walked in and saw Natsu was already out cold. "He's always been a quick sleeper" Lucy thought to herself amused looking at her passed out husband. They were up the next day and moving as Natsu got lose clothing for his training. They kissed Layla goodbye as she ran for her bus then met Erza at the training center. " You alright for today?" Erza asked warily. "Yep, all set" said Natsu confident. "I'll be all set up" "You should take your training more serious then that" cautioned Erza. "Lay off Erza, I'll be fine" Natsu sniped irritated as they went inside.

Lucy eyed Erza a look telling her to let it go" Erza unhappily nodded understanding what Lucy was saying. The man who taught him yesterday was there again as Natsu took off his shoes and socks and walked up to him. "Back again , are we?" "Yup" he answered. "Can your body take more? "Yes" he said again mildly getting irritated. "When is your first fight?" "Tomorrow" Natsu answered. "You sure you are up for it?" "Yes, now are you going to train me or ask me questions all day. You sound like my commander over there" Natsu motioned behind him to Erza with his thumb. "Okay, get into a fighting stance like yesterday" he ordered Natsu. Natsu did as instructed as let out a deep breath clearing his mind. "Today we will learn of the movements of a kata called Heian Nidan. I showed you a hint of them yesterday. Now you will learn more" "Great let's get started" insisted Natsu. The instructor grabbed Natsu's forerm making Natsu look at him sharply. "Keep me from grabbing it" he told Natsu as Natsu yanked his arm out and went to hit him with his elbow but missed. Very fluidly the instructor moved aside as Natsu's punch went past him as he grabbed Natsu's arm and pulled him to the floor causing Erza and Lucy to look away embarrassed for Natsu. Looking down at Natsu, he said "the move I'm going to teach you is called a forearm block. Then the soto-nagashi uke or in other words the outside flowing block where you target your opponent's elbow" Holding his arm out, Natsu took it as he said "alright then, let's get to it.

After a few hours, they took a break as Natsu sat on his knees sweating. "Jeeze, this is a lot of work" remarked Natsu. "Backing out are we?" teased Erza. "No way in hell" said Natsu as he sucked down a bottle of water. Once he was done with that, he went back at it. " We have to go because our daughter will be home soon. But thank you for all you've taught me. I'll be sure to use tomorrow" he said after a while . "Natsu, I don't think" said Lucy before Natsu gave her look cutting her off. "Never mind" she said quickly. "I don't think you are even close to being ready Natsu. You damn stubborn idiot" Lucy thought to herself. They bowed goodbye to his teacher then said goodbye to Erza and headed home. "Maybe I'm not giving him enough credit. He might have more strength then I think..just have to wait and see tomorrow" she admitted in her head.


	20. Chapter 20

The next day came and Lucy watched as Natsu got himself ready for the match the whole day from going on a run to working out some at the gym then reviewing what he had been taught. "You ready for tonight?" she asked that afternoon. "You bet baby" he answered confident and sure of himself. Lucy couldn't help but smile at him even though she was scared for him inside. "I really hope he is ready. I still feel like he is rushing into this but he is refusing to tell me why" she thought to herself. They waited until that evening when they dropped Layla off with Gray and Gajeel. "Thanks for watching her you guys" said Lucy. "You know its never a problem Lu" said Levy happily. "She's right Lucy, you can bring this little firecracker over any time" said Gajeel. Gajeel looked up at Natsu standing by the car. "Watch yourself you damn hot head, they don't go easy in there" cautioned Gajeel. "Aww, you care" joked Levy. "Oh hush up shrimp. I know Lucy is going to be worried about him so I wanted to make sure he knew" his face turning slightly red. "Uh huh, I'm so sure that's the only reason" Lucy giggled. "Oh so what if I care about him. He's a decent guy, not to mention still my boss and it would really suck if he got injured badly." Lucy gave him a reassuring smile "Thank you Gajeel, I'll cross my fingers for both of us" "Come on babe, we gotta go or I'm gonna be late" "Well , see you guys later, be good for your aunt and uncle Layla" Lucy said quickly as she ran back towards the car. "GOOD LUCK DADDY!"she screamed.

"Thank you, sweetheart," he answered as he saw Layla blow him a kiss. He returned it and got into the car. "Ready?" "Yup" "Lets get this show on the road" said Natsu with a smirk as he pressed his foot down on the gas and got going to the MMA fighting arena Erza had given them directions too. They pulled up and Lucy let out a big breath of nervousness before they walked inside. Natsu came over and put his hands near the top of her shoulders. "Relax Luce, you've got enough nervousness going through you like a radiator. " " she stuttered as he chuckled. "Baby, calm down. I'm gonna be fine. I promise. Do you believe in me?" he asked. "Yes" she said calmly taking a breath. I do" she said optimistically. "That's all I need, come on, let's get in there before Erza blows a gasket wondering where we are" he said lightly making Lucy laugh as he walked them in. Going inside, they met Erza outside of an arena where Lucy's eyes widened. "Holy shit" she thought as she looked at a giant square arena. She took a step back out of amazement, shock and fear. "Lucy, go ahead and go take a seat, I'll join you in a minute." "Okay" she muttered. "Love You Luce" said Natsu giving her a kiss on her cheek "Love you too..good luck Natsu" she said with a small smile. "Thanks" he said. Lucy went and took a seat in the crowd. "Natsu, you sure you are good for this?. I can still take you out right now and no one will be nun the wiser" "No Erza, let me do this. I swear I'm good. Besides I got taught some pretty good moves" "Just be careful" she warned patting his shoulders. "You know I got this" he barely got out before the crowd got louder as the referee came out. "Oh , guess it's time" said Natsu as he lifted his shirt off him. "I'm going to join Lucy. Good luck Natsu" she said walking away as Natsu's face got serious.

"You alright?" Erza asked Lucy who quickly nodded her head. "Liar" she said lightly as she put an arm on Lucy's back. "We both know Natsu has got the confidence to do this" Erza said trying to assure her. "His confidence isn't what I'm worried about. He spent two days learning only a fraction of what's out there. This was a bad idea" said Lucy. "Let's just wait and see" said Erza. "I was the only who gave him the idea in the first place. If something happens, this on me and him both" she thought to herself. "I believe in you" thought Lucy whose gaze was completely focused on Natsu as he gave the referee a confident smile as he jumped into the ring. The announcer started by bringing the microphone down to his mouth. "Welcome everyone to tonight's entertainment" The crowd cheered as he kept going. "Tonight we have a newcomer" "Gee, thanks for spilling that" Natsu muttered under his breath irritated. "Fighting our known local fighter Sampson" he pointed to the corner across from Natsu. Natsu looked and stared at the man walking down. He was taller than Natsu and completely covered in muscles. "Hmm, a challenge. I like" he thought cocky as he looked him up and down. Lucy put her head in her hand ."What is it?" asked Erza confused. "My husband is an idiot" she mumbled. "Huh? I didn't get that Lucy" said Erza. Taking her face away from her hand, she said "I know what Natsu is thinking and he's an idiot" Lucy said blunt. "How do you know?" "Because….i know that cocky look he's got" Lucy replied.

A silent alarm went off in Erza's head as she watched Natsu bounce back and forth pumping himself up. "Alright, you two listen, there will be total of three matches. Each five minutes long, should either of you decide to withdraw or forfeit, simply grab one of the white flags in the corner and wave it or raise a hand" "Not happening" said Natsu and Sampson in unison. "Okay, stick your mouth guards in and groin protectors on" Natsu turned around and saw what he meant as he tried to figure it out. "I'm not going to even question why they need these" "Alright men, take your positions" he told them as they got into a fighting stance. "Ready..FIGHT!" he announced stepping back as a gong went off. Natsu went headfirst without thinking making Lucy and Erza tense up as Natsu dodged Sampson's punch quickly. "Whew" said Lucy but relief didn't last long as Sampson went for Natsu's lower arm and threw him across the ring. "Jeeze" commented Lucy watching Natsu get back up. "Heh, your gonna regret that pal" he thought as he threw back his fist and went for Sampson's face landing a direct punch throwing his balance off. Natsu full of himself failed to himself as Sampson quickly recovered and tripped Natsu up making him land on the floor as the first bell went off. "Damn, that didn't last long" he thought as he went to the side to catch his breath. "You good?" asked Erza raising her eyebrows. "I'm good" assured Lucy. "Alright round two" Natsu stuck his mouth guard back in.

"Round two, not so bad" he thought but before he could react, Sampson had ahold of him tight and Natsu couldn't get him to let go. He grunted hitting Sampson's forearm. "Fucking bastard, let me go" he wanted to scream through his mouth guard but it just came out as muffled noise. Sampson got up but only for a second as he was pounded into the floor making him groan through the mouth guard. Erza and Lucy were on the edges of their seats as Lucy's hands were shaking. "He'll be okay" Erza said trying to comfort her. Lucy watched in terror as she watched Natsu struggle to get up. Sampson let Natsu get to his feet before hitting him directly in his eye knocking him to the matt as the gong went off ending the second round. On the ground, he crawled over to the side. "We have to stop this now!" yelled Lucy frantic. "He's got one round left Lucy. He can do this" "He got punched in the eye Erza!" she yelled waving her arms towards Natsu. "I know but you know he's not going to give in" "Shut up! Like you know him" Lucy snapped angrily. Natsu looked up at Lucy who gave him a pleading , desperate look as he gave her a persistent shake of his head. "You damn idiot" she thought to herself as angry, emotional tears stung her eyes. Erza didn't say anything thinking it would be better to stay silent. The gong went off for the final round as Natsu stubbornly got to his feet. His body screamed at him as he ignored it. "One last round, I just have to keep him busy until the last few seconds then knock his ass down" he thought confident sticking the mouth guard back in. Not wasting time, Natsu dodged from side to side but was slowed from his injuries. Natsu got a attack off as he targeted Sampson's elbow using the move he was taught then punched him on his side. His victory didn't last as Sampson regained his ground quickly and grabbed Natsu raising him above his arms causing Lucy to jump out of her seat as she watched in horror as Natsu tried with all his might to get free.

Sampson threw him clear across the ring but before he could hit the floor, Natsu's stomach was punched directly in the middle. Landing on the floor, he grabbed at his stomach as his kneecaps were kicked at as Natsu weakly tried to get up but collapsed as the gong went off signaling it was over. "NATSU!" Lucy screamed. "I told you this was bad idea!" she snapped at Erza angrily pushing past her as she ran down to him. The staff were helping him out of the ring as Lucy stopped dead center of them. "Lu..cy" he muttered weakly in pain as she took him from the staff and helped him sit on the ground. " G..uess I'm not as rready as I thought.." "You think" she said mildly. "Natsu, I'm sorry" apologized Erza. "For getting you hurt" "Hurt?, he was freaking body slammed! And has a black eye!" Lucy yelled furious as she handed Natsu a ice pack for his eye that the staff gave her. She stood there fuming as she stared hard at Erza. "He shouldn" "NO!" Lucy yelled sharply cutting her off. "He shouldn't have competed, and you fucking knew it!" "Luc.e..enough" Natsu said straining grabbing at her hand and pulling getting her attention. "This is just..as much..cough cough..my fault.. Don't take it all out on her" She whipped her head back towards Erza still angry as Natsu looked at her with a kind face. "Baby..calm down" he said in the voice that always got to her no matter even in the weakened state he was in. She huffed as she balled her hands and dropped to her knees in front of him. She put her hands around his stomach laying her head on his leg as he rubbed her head gently as the tears she had been holding finally came out. "Wwwhen you were thrown..I got so scared Natsu" she said in a teary voice.

"Believe me, you weren't the only one..I was terrified" confessed Natsu. "Erza" he said in a serious tone getting her attention as she looked up at him. "Yes sir" said Erza official like. "Don't feel bad, this isn't .cough, cough your fault. None of it. You asked if I was ready and kept trying to tell me it wasn't good idea but I refused to listen" admitted Natsu. " , come on baby, stand-up" he said gently then grunted in pain as he tried coming forward. Lucy and Erza reacted but he held his hands stopping them as he waved them down. "Lucy. Don't hold a grudge against Erza." Lucy took a breath and let it out as she said "I'm sorry for snapping at you. I was stressed out but I shouldn't have taken it out on you" "I don't take any of it personal Lucy, you had the right to be upset. I would be too if Jellal were in Natsu's position." Lucy stepped forward and put her arms around Erza's shoulders as Erza hugged her gently around the waist putting a hand to her back. She felt Lucy tremble as she said with compassion "It's alright Lucy. You don't have to cry. I promise I'm not upset..so you shouldn't be either. Releasing from her hug, Erza looked down at her like an older sister as Lucy looked up. "You are still my sister ,I love you. Nothing will change that. No need for tears" Lucy quickly nodded wiping what tears came out and calmed herself before more came. "Let's get him out of here" said Erza pointing her head towards Natsu as Lucy walked over and helped him stand up. Each of them put a hand over their shoulder and helped him into the car.

They managed to get him into the passenger side as Natsu swung his legs over. "Thanks Erza" Lucy said humble. "No worries. Are you going to be alright getting him into the house?" "yeah, I'll be fine. Need to go grab Layla first though" said Lucy. "Well alright but call me if you have any trouble" "Will do" said Lucy as she shut the car door and drove off. "Do you still want to go through with this?" she asked him serious. "YYes" he answered. I need to take my training more serious then maybe in a couple months , I can try again but don't worry I won't do it if I'm not ready" he said reassuring her as it calmed some of her nerves. "I haven't forgotten you either Luce" "Huh?" "Tomorrow, we're meeting with Leo" he said managing a grin. "Natsu..are you even going to be able to go in your condition?" "Yes..a majority of this if not all should be healed by tomorrow afternoon Luce. minus my eye.. Lucy..you did this for me. I'm going to do whatever I can for you. I told you before that I'm not going to let your needs slide to the side just because I'm getting into MMA." "I know, I appreciate you saying that Natsu" "Wake me up..when we are home" he said sliding off to sleep as his head hung. "Hmm, sure" she said lightly amused as she drove until she got to Levy's. "Hey Lu" greeted Levy as she opened the door for Lucy. "Hey Lev. She all ready to go?" said Lucy nicely. Levy stepped aside as Layla came over happy. "I'm ready to go mommy" she said. "Good, come on baby girl" she said taking Layla's outreached hand. "Hey Lucy, how did Natsu do?" asked Gajeel. Lucy coughed getting their attention as she motioned discreetly towards the car not looking at them in the eye.

Levy and Gajeel squinted and saw Natsu with his black eye. "Jesus" said Gajeel quietly careful not to freak Layla out. "Yeah" Lucy replied. "Dumbass" he insulted as Levy elbowed him shutting him up. "Mommy?" Layla said with some worry seeing Lucy's face. "Hey, cheer up Lu. You know Natsu. Before you know it, he will be up and moving and driving you crazy" Levy said in good uplifting humor making Lucy smile. "Come on baby, let's get home" said Lucy shaking off her sadness as she looked at Levy thankful who nodded receiving the message. "Is daddy okay?" "Shhh, daddy is sleeping" Lucy said in a hushed voice. "He fought hard tonight so he's worn out so when we get home, it's straight to bed" "okay mommy" she replied quietly as Lucy buckled her in and got back in the car.

Once they got to the house, Lucy rushed Layla inside who ran up the stairs to brush her teeth and get ready for bed. She quietly opened Natsu's door and lightly shook him. "We're home baby" she said in a sweet, quiet voice as he groggily partway opened his eyes seeing Lucy's face. Nodding his head, he unbuckled and slowly got himself out as he hobbled for a minute as Lucy grabbed his arm and put it on her. "Guess it's a good thing I go to Erza's gym now huh? Or you would be walking your ass into the home by yourself" she joked. "Alright, ms. Cocky , let's just get inside" She nodded agreeing as they walked slow step by slow step into the house then to the stairs where Natsu grabbed the railing. "I got it from here Luce" "You sure?" He nodded certain as he made his way up the stairs and into their room where he let himself fall onto their bed. "Did daddy win?" Layla asked once she was in bed. "No sweetheart, unfortunately daddy lost tonight" said Lucy. "He wasn't strong enough huh?" "No not tonight but that is okay. Don't be afraid to lose. Sometimes it's better to do that then hurt yourself more" she said matter of factually. " Will he win next time?" " I don't know baby but you need to get to sleep. You have school in the morning" she said as she kissed Layla goodnight. "Love you mommy" "Love you too baby girl." She quietly walked in as Natsu shifted his head seeing her. "Hey" she whispered softly as he nodded. She came over and took his shoes with his socks and pants off for him. Then gently helped him take his shirt off throwing it into a corner then she changed and climbed into bed with him.

Very lightly she laid her head on his shoulder and rested her arm on his chest. "Tthanks for supporting me tonight Luce" he said very croaky. "I will always support you Natsu..even if I don't agree" He smirked at her as he squeezed her arm then let go as they closed their eyes going to sleep. By the time twelve came around for them to go to Leo, Natsu was up and moving around even if it wasn't as quickly as normal. "You still sure you can do this?" asked Lucy concerned. Natsu laughed as he said "Yes Lucy,haha for the final time. I'm good. I promise" "Well your right eye would beg to differ" Lucy said harshly. Putting a hand over the patch they used for his eye, he said "it will heal" "Hmph" "I notice you aren't speaking loudly either" pointed out Natsu. Lucy gave him a knowing look without having to say anything. "Your throat got strained by you screaming" "Yes" she replied. "All the better I'm taking the time to train right, saves your throat" "It's not as bad as it I can still feel it" "Just take it easy Luce, there shouldn't be a reason for you to scream" "You remember we have a child right?" "Just leave me to deal with that, I'll scream for you if need be. Come on" he said as they walked out the door. "You aren't starting immediately right?" she asked suddenly as they got to the car. "No ms. Paranoid" he said filled with sarcasm. "It's going to take at least two weeks for my muscles to fully recover from that, not to mention my eye so no worries about me rushing" She smiled a small grin of relief which Natsu saw and chuckled. "You do not have faith in me" he teased as they both laughed getting into the car. "What happened to your eye?" asked Leo when they walked into his office. "Lost a MMA fight" replied Natsu. "MMA,really?. Impressive. I didn't think you were the type to do that" "You don't know me doc but we're not for me, you're here for my wife" said Natsu clear. "Y,yes" said Leo clearing his throat.

"Lucy..what happened?" he asked tenderly looking at Lucy's wrapped arms. "I..I had a relapse..not a drinking one but I…I..I felt hatred and sadness and wanted it to go away" she said in a very melancholy voice. "It's alright Lucy" Leo said very understanding. Natsu grabbed her hand and squeezed it as he kissed her cheek. "Listen Leo, I still think therapy is still a good idea but is there a way soon we can look for an alternative or something to go with it?" "Like a sort of different therapy like recreational?" "Yes" answered Natsu looking back at Lucy. "It would be good for her" "I'm sure we can think of something, for now though I think we should go back to meeting twice a week. You do not need to come to A.A , that's your own choice since you seem to have gotten control over your drinking. But if you ever feel the urge to grab a drink to do something like this, you are free to come to a meeting Lucy" said Leo. "Thank you" she said grateful. For the rest of they talked about how Lucy was feeling leading up to the relapse and after. Natsu shook Leo's hand at the end thanking him as they left his office. "I don't know of any other outlet then singing itself Natsu" "Well that's why we asked him if we could look into other things. I'm not asking you to forget Luce or your memories of it. Just something to help you cope and that you might get into it like you did with music" he said lightly. "I understand" answered Lucy. They got into the car and drove home.

While healing up, Natsu looked up stuff online on different styles used in mma fighting. "Jesus there's a lot" he said out loud. From stand up discipline to Clinch style to Ground style. Looking through all those and into the different moves they used, he narrowed it down to Jiu-jitsu and Judo. "I'll take learning the back mount.. see if a bastard gets a hold of my back again" he growled to himself as he continued looking "aaaaand..the clo..this is great. The closed guard position allows for the opponent to grab his attacker and wrap his legs around his opponents hips. Perfect. Now for the judo moves. I'll learn some hand techniques and then some foot and leg techniques. Also from everything I've looked up, I definitely need to up my weights again and up my workouts." He said to himself. "Hey Luce!, I have a workout plan" he yelled going to find her. Within two weeks, his body was healed along with his eye and was ready to train. "What are you going to do first?" she asked. "First, I'm just gonna get my ass back into the gym." "I want to come" she said immediately. "Sure, go get dressed, I'll meet you in the car" he said as she rushed up the stairs to get changed as Natsu went to the car and waited. Five minutes later, she came down and locked the house and went to the car. Her arm wraps were taken off and her arms free making Lucy feel self conscious but Natsu reminded her he was there if she needed him. They arrived at the gym where their team was there working out.

"Hey Natsu" said Gray. "What's up man" greeted Natsu as they fist bumped. "Hadn't heard from ya since you took that hit in the fight" "Yeah, sorry , I was healing, and I had to get a training schedule put together" That perked Erza's ears up as she hopefully said "training schedule?" "Yes, I am going to start taking this seriously and do whatever I need to make sure when I do this for real in a couple months then I can really kick some ass." He said proud. "Good for you Natsu" Jellal piped in nicely. "Well I'm gonna get to work, catch you guys in a bit" said Natsu as he walked off to do his workout. "You come to workout too Lucy?" Jellal asked. "Yes, I just want to do some strength training though and some yoga. Nothing like what Natsu is doing" she explained. "Sounds good to me" said Erza with a smile. They left her be to do her workout while they continued to do theirs. Lucy was doing a yoga outfit for forty five minutes and stopped. She grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat off when she caught a glimpse of Natsu bench pressing a set of 140 pound weights with Gray behind him to spot him. "You good man?" he asked. "Y..yeah!" Natsu grunted fully extending the weights and holding them for a few seconds before slowly coming back down. "Damn, Natsu has come a long way from the light muscled guy he was in high school" thought Lucy admiringly as she watched him. He lifted a couple more times before he sat up. Seeing him dripping in sweat, Lucy walked over with a towel as he sat himself up. "Hey baby" he greeted happy to see her taking the towel from her. He planted his face into it wiping all the sweat off. "So much for light workout" joked Lucy.

"Hmph, if this flame brained idiot wants to have a chance next time, better for him to start with the heavy now" teased Gray as Natsu shot him a disapproving look. "Yeah, yeah, hush up both of you" said Natsu. Lucy laughed as Natsu leaned in for a kiss which she gladly accepted then pushed him off. "Your all sweaty and sticky" she said amused as he made little kissy faces. "Come on Luce, don't you want some?" he joked. "If I make you hot and sticky, sure but not otherwise" said Lucy seductively. "Aaaand on that note, catch you guys later" said Gray feeling awkward and quickly walking away. "See ya stripper" Gray looked back at him with a snide look as Natsu shot him a mischievous grin. "Payback for your comment about my workouts earlier" he thought gleefully to himself Returning his attention to Lucy, he said "so you want to make me all sticky do you?..hmm?" he raised his eyebrows as she turned her body and crawled toward him making him grin. "What happened to what you were saying just a second ago?" he said enticed as she put her arms around his shoulders and crept next to his ear where she whispered in a very sexy voice "you should make a workout to do at home..then you can really get sticky" she kissed his ear as his face turned red and his hair stood on end like a shot had gone through him. "Youuuu..mmeannn " he stumbled over his words in both amazement and desperate longing . She casually nodded her head with a coy smile. "You want it?" she asked.

Shaking his head rapidly , he instantly got up. "Erza!, I need your help with a home workout routine" he yelled running as Lucy turned and started laughing. "Oh boy" Jellal said chuckling walking over to Lucy. "What did you do Lucy? , haven't seen him move that fast after a workout" "Wouldn't you like to know" she teased raising an eyebrow. "Oh I see ha, nope no more is needed" Jellal answered getting the words she wasn't saying loud and clear. "What are you rambling about Natsu?" asked Gray who was standing beside Erza as Natsu ran over hyped up. "I want to make a routine that I can use at home" he said eager. " A home work out? Well it shouldn't be too hard but it will take some time getting the equipment that you need to your house. Where would you work out though?" "Our living room is big enough, I can do it there" answered Natsu. With the weights and everything, that's going to take up room though" Waving his hand, Natsu said "don't worry about that part, can you just help me make a routine that I can do at home please?" His tone was like that of a child begging for candy. "Yes Natsu" Erza amused at his voice. "Yes" he said quietly in victory. "May I ask what suddenly brought this change?" she asked him sounding very curious. Natsu glanced over his shoulder at Lucy who was talking to Jellal and not paying attention. Erza and Gray followed his eyes to her then smacked their foreheads with their hands.

"Did they really?" "I have a feeling it was her; you saw how fast he ran over here" replied Gray as they shook their heads realizing why Natsu got so hyped up. Lucy and Jellal came over as Gray and Erza looked at her with shocked faces. "What, something wrong?" she asked. "Oh no, just surprised us, is all" answered Erza. "You done working out for the day Lucy?" Gray asked "Yup, I am all set. Now to go home and take a shower" she answered. "You remember we have showers here you two" said Jellal. "Oh I know, but Layla should be getting home soon and well don't want to miss that" "Sure you don't" answered Erza and Gray in unison making Lucy and Natsu give them puzzled looks. "Did we miss something?" asked Natsu oblivious. Jellal looked at Erza and Gray as they all shared a look then Jellal said "come on guys, I'll walk out with you two" "Okay" answered Natsu and Lucy walking with him out the door. Erza and Gray closed their eyes and said "whew" "Your husband is sharp and quick to pick up on signals, I'll give Jellal that" complimented Gray. "Yup. One of the reasons I love him" said Erza in a loving voice. Natsu and Lucy got to their car and on their sides as they waved to Jellal.

"Hey Jellal , any reason why the other two were acting weird around us?" yelled out Natsu "Think about it Natsu, why else would a man we all know suddenly get red in the face and run over?" "Huh?" they replied. Jellal laughed and said "give it a minute, you'll get it" then walked away. Still pondering in confusion , they got in the car and were putting on their seatbelts when they caught each other's eyes. "OH GOD!" they screamed as realization hit them like a ton of bricks and their faces lit up as they closed their eyes hard in embarrassment. "Oh god," "Yeah, nice job Luce" "Hey!, it's not like I shouted it out. Only reason they suspected was because you ran like a shot over to Erza, you over eager dragon" "Hey!, you can't blame me for excitement..besides if I can have you nearby, it will motivate me even more" "Aww, Natsu" she said sweetly. "Well , cat's out of the bag now. Let's get home" said Lucy. " So we can have a recovery time?" he asked eager. Shaking her head, she said "if you want to do that, you better put your foot on that gas right now"

Not needing anymore initiative, he slammed down on the gas and sped as much as he could legal wise to their house. Her head hit the back of her seat once they pulled in their driveway with how rapidly he pulled in. Running out of his seat, he zoomed to Lucy's side, barely giving her time to unbuckle her seat as he picked her up and held her legs so she wouldn't fall. "Can you even see?" she asked since her head was in front of him. "I know where the steps are, now just shut up and kiss me" he ordered lustful. Putting her hands around her neck, she answered "yes master" as she fully kissed him inserting her tongue. Getting inside, he spun them so he was backed against a wall as Lucy kissed him deeply. "These are coming off" he said panting as he set her down and ripped her shirt and bra off her as he aggressively brought her to the floor and growled a seducing sound. Putting his hands behind her back, he brought her face to him as he locked his lips around hers letting his tongue intertwine with hers. They explored each other while Natsu not taking eyes off Lucy grabbed for her breasts and began squeezing them causing a moan from Lucy as Natsu released his lips and went straight for her neck biting down on it. His fanged canines piercing her skin as she screamed in blissful delight. "YEESSSS! Oh god..pppp..pplee..as ahhhhhhh" she got as her body felt like jelly under him as she slid to the floor from enjoying him. He let go as he grinned a gleeful grin. "Want some more? She faintly shook her head too lost in pleasure to give a real answer. "No, no master wants to hear his slave. Do you want me to bite you again? He said teasing. "Ppp..ppleeeasee" Satsified, he went to her other side growling as he bit down. Her eyes went big as she put a hand to his bare back and rubbed in as she climaxed. "Mmmmmy dddragonnn" she stuttered happily. "Oh we aren't done yet baby" he said releasing his mouth and putting her arms to the floor as he quickly undid his and hers pants and threw them to the side. "Na" but before she could say another word, he began thrusting back and fourth in her as she yelled in erotic pleasure. "Yes!, harder Natsu" she begged. "Harder huh, my love slave gets what she wants" he said pounding into her harder. "Ahh,ahhh, ahh..hmmmph" her voice was muffled as Natsu covered her mouth. "uh uh, not until I say, are you allowed to cum" she looked at him pleading as he smiled a chesire smile at her and said "nope" He felt her body go up and down as he went back and fourth letting his own moans escape him. "You are so wet baby..just how I like you" her mouth was still covered as he let out moans of bliss. She yelled out through his hand as she looked at him with longing and desire. "Are you ready then?" he asked as she nodded her head.

Releasing his hand, she let out a loud moan where he returned it. "I'm .. Nnnnattsuu" "Go ahead baby, I'm going to as well" replied Natsu as he watched her climax. "Ohhh..ggggoo…YES!" Natsu shouted as he cam a few seconds later. Dripping buckets of sweat, Natsu carefully released himself from Lucy as he laid himself next to her who was sweating just as badly. "Hehe, we might want to get some lotion for those bitemarks. I don't need Dr. Leo seeing how I pleasure you" "Oh, but why not Natsu" she joked as Natsu gave her a look missing the joke. He doesn't need to know what we do at home" he said flatly. "I was joking Natsu" said Lucy. "Wanna go again!? He asked eager. "We can't babe, Layla should be home in a let's go hop in the shower" she replied disappointing Natsu as he got to his feet and helped Lucy to hers as they walked up the stairs. Letting the water run over them, they closed their eyes holding each other. Eventually they let go as Natsu put soap enjoyingly all over Lucy then watched as she washed it off. Lucy got to do the same but smacked his butt as she finished earning a smirk from him. They finished showering as they stepped out panting from the heat. "Just took a shower but feel like I have to take another one already" said Lucy. "Just the heat Luce, we'll be good in a few" he informed her. "Oh I know, still really hot" she replied walking out of the bathroom to get out comfy clothes for the night. "How's your throat?" he asked. "Surprisingly enough, it doesn't hurt all that much but I wasn't screaming as loud as I normally do..you would know" "Hehe, yes I would" he said proud of himself. They got dressed and were headed down the stairs when the front door opened "Mommy, daddy!" "Hey baby girl!" they replied joyfully as Layla dropped her bag and ran to them hugging them both by their legs as they rubbed her head. "Did you have a good day baby dragon?" he asked "Yes daddy but now it's the weekend!" she said excited. "Haha, yes Layla it is" he said scooping her up into the air. He threw her up making her shriek with joy as Natsu caught her on the way back down.

"Again daddy!" she yelled as he threw her into the air again. Lucy smiled with joy watching the happiness on Layla's face. Layla and Natsu both laughed as he put her down on the floor. "I love having a dragon for daddy!" she yelled out making Natsu blush turning quickly "He can make you fly right Layla?" Lucy said lightly. ""Uh huh!. Just like what a dragon is supposed to do" "Is daddy okay?" she said quietly to Lucy who crouched down. " I think he just got caught up, go give daddy a hug..make him feel better" she said with a wink as Layla walked over and pulled at Natsu's shirt He looked down at Layla. "Did I make you really happy daddy?" Sniffling, he said in a cracking voice " ..very happy" he knelt down on his knees as Layla put a hand to his cheek wiping a teardrop away with her finger. He placed a hand on top of hers holding it in place as he closed his eyes for a second enjoying her soft ,innocent touch. " I hope you always stay like this baby girl" he thought wishfully in his head as he opened his eyes to her smiling a warm smile. Without saying a word, she slipped her hand through Natsu's and put her arms around his neck hugging him as he wrapped his arms around her and put a hand behind her head. "I love you my daddy dragon" "I love you too baby dragon..more then all the riches in the world" Lucy's heart melted as she crossed her hands over her heart.

"My dragon family. I couldn't ask for more" she thought. After a few minutes, Natsu had Layla run her bag up to her room and came down the stairs. "Go ahead and watch whatever you want baby girl" said Lucy giving Layla the remote who squeaked happily taking it from Lucy as Natsu and Lucy sat at the counter. "Natsu" said Lucy. "What's up Luce?" " Doing your workouts here is great and I love that you'll be doing ..for more then one reason obviously but you aren't going to try to do the MMA training on your own, are you?" "Oh no Luce, don't worry. I found some trainers I can go too that will teach me then after I'm confident then I will train using them at home" "Okay, just wanted to make sure, I believe in you Natsu. Just didn't want you to get hurt" she said genuine. "I get it Lucy, your good" he assured. " What do you want to eat?" he asked. "I think I'm going to have some soup tonight. I don't want to push my throat anymore then I already have" she replied. "That's alright. What soup do you want?" "Chicken noodle" " Have to love the classics" he said amused as he walked to the pantry and pulled out a can for her. "Thank you" said Lucy.

"No problem Luce, hey Layla, what do you want to eat baby girl?" "I'm good with anything daddy" "Ha, now that's something you don't hear a kid say every day. That they are good with anything" "Agreed" replied Lucy. "Well if she's good with anything then…you good with grilled cheese there baby girl?" "Sounds yummy!" Layla answered making Natsu and Lucy chuckle. "Take that as a yes" said Lucy "I guess so" answered Natsu as he pulled out pan to get his and Layla's sandwiches cooked. Once her soup was done cooking, she poured into a bowl and ate watching Natsu as he prepared grilled cheese for him and Layla. " I remember when we lived off those in the apartment" "Yeah, no kidding. Hell you had to teach me how to make grilled cheese if I remember correctly..how sad is that" "I wouldn't say sad Natsu, you were raised differently than most people." "Luce, different is what you use to describe food or something else. My childhood was fucked up and lonely." "I'm sorry" she said walking behind him, she put her arms around his stomach as she rested her head on his back. He sighed as he laid a hand upon hers. "Not your fault Luce, you saved me from a lifetime of hell remember that" he said with a small smile. "I'll never forget" she replied hugging him tighter. "Crap" he said quickly releasing Lucy's hands from him, he ran over to the sandwiches lifting them off the pan. "Whew." He said relieved as he saw they weren't burnt, just slightly dark.

"We almost had burnt cheese sandwiches Layla instead of grilled" he laughed. She laughed as she came and grabbed a seat while Natsu cut her sandwich and handed it to her. "Thank you, daddy," she said as she took a bite. "Your welcome sweetheart" he replied as he took a bite out of his. Once they were all done, they all sat down on the couch as a family and watched something. "Hey Layla, want to take a bath?" Lucy asked once they were done watching. " A bubble bath?" she asked hopeful "Yup" "Yes! Pleassee!" she yelled as Lucy got up and went to the bathroom with her. Filling up the tub, Layla undressed quickly and jumped in splashing Lucy as she poured the bubble bath. "Watch it sweetheart" said Lucy drying to dry off her wet shirt. "Sorry mommy" she apologized. "Just enjoy your bath you goofball" Lucy joked as she walked out of the bathroom. "Don't forget to wash behind your ears baby" "I won't mommy!" she yelled while Lucy made her way back downstairs. "Hey" said Natsu as Lucy snuggled back up to him putting his arm around her. "Your wet" he noticed "Yeah, you can thank our kid for that" she said lightly making him chuckle. They smiled when they heard her giggling upstairs.


	21. Chapter 21

Layla yelled after a while she was done so Lucy and Natsu shut off the tv and locked the house then made their way upstairs. Lucy grabbed a towel and made her way over to a very giggly and happy Layla who stood up and got herself out of the tub. Lucy managed to dry her off some before she went running 'Lay." Lucy tried to call out as she went running. "Hold up there baby dragon" said Natsu as he swiftly picked her up. "Daddy" she said giggly making him smile. "Your gonna trip, you over eager weirdo" Lucy playfully shook her head as she wrapped a towel around Layla's naked body while Natsu held her. "Now I'm good!" she yelled holding her arms in front of her making Lucy and Natsu laugh. "now we need to get you into pajama's little one, it's late and time for you to go to bed" "Okay" she squeaked with a grin as Natsu set her on the floor. They all walked to her room as Layla got a PJ set out and changed into them. Then they tucked her in as Layla snuggled in next to Happy. "Goodnight sweetheart" cooed Natsu kissing her forehead, he tucked her hair behind her ear. Layla kissed him on the cheek

"Night daddy" she said sweetly as he walked out and stood by the door waiting for Lucy. "I love you baby girl" Lucy said lovingly hugging her. "love you too mommy" "Goodnight my baby dragon" she said getting up. She kissed Layla lightly and shut her light off closing her door. "We've got a hell of a kid Lucy" said Natsu as they got into bed. "I agree" said Lucy laying her head on his chest. He put an arm around her comfortingly. Looking up at the ceiling he said " with how much she's been through..I'm not sure any other kid would have survived what she has been through" His tone caught her attention. She lightly rubbed his chest "She had you to help her through it" she said reminding him. "Yeah but it was also because of me that it happened" Lucy shot him a sharp look as she pinched him hard. "OW!" Natsu exclaimed in pain. "What the hell was that for?" he yelled annoyed until he saw her face. Hurt, sadness and annoyance. He could see it in her eyes. "Lucy" "None of that was on you Natsu, none of it! It was your mother!. If it wasn't for you, Layla and I would still be stuck there..away from you..Layla would still not know her father" she cried. "If you hadn't shown up, I never would have been able tt..to marry you" He pulled at her arm surprising her as he brought her head to his shoulder placing a hand behind her head. "I'm sorry" he said quietly. "I wasn't saying any of that to hurt you, I swear Lucy" She sank her face into his shoulder.

Muffled she said "You mean the world to her" "Huh?" he said lifting her head slightly. "I said you mean the world to her" she replied, her voice sounding exhausted. "And she means the world to me. You both do. I don't regret anything. Nothing at all, I wasn't saying any of that because I regret what's happened. Luce, our daughter is strong. I am just sorry that It was Evelyn that forced her to be that way but that is all I'm saying.. Okay?" he looked at her with soft raised eyebrows. "Yeah" she said believing him. "Good, come on let's get some sleep" he said laying them down into the bed with his arms around her. "Goodnight Natsu" she said as she fell asleep. "Goodnight Luce" he whispered seeing her asleep. He lightly kissed her lips closing his eyes. Monday came up and after Layla was on the bus, Natsu and Lucy went to the training center Natsu had found for his first MMA session. "What are you working on today? " she asked on the way. " Today is jiu-jitsu moves. Tomorrow I'll work on judo moves. "Tomorrow? Your going to try to do both of those this week?" "Yup, the sooner I can learn them there, the better I'll be to do them at home and train from there" "But your not going to rush it right?" she questioned. "No Luce, I promise I'm not rushing anything this time. I'll be going a couple days a week then doing regular workouts at home. Then once I know enough of the moves on my own, I can take those and add them to my workout routine" "Sounds like a thought-out plan. I'm glad Natsu" He chuckled as they kept driving.

Finally, they arrived. Walking in, Natsu pointed to where he saw some chairs and motioned for Lucy to go sit. "Are you the young man I spoke too on the phone a few days ago?" said a finely muscle toned young man. He was dressed in a traditional martial arts uniform. "Yes" answered Natsu formally. Holding his hand out, the young man took it and shook it. "Name is Natsu Dragneel" "Nice to meet you Mr. Dragneel, I am sensei Fujimoto but you can call me sensei" he explained to Natsu. "No problem" "So what am I teaching you today? " "Can you show me the back mount and closed guard position?" "Certainly, but before I teach you, do you know the basics?" "Yes" replied Natsu firmly. " I was taught some kata moves and they got me through but I got my ass kicked because I was stubborn and didn't learn more so before I really join MMA fighting" "Enough said, come on let's get started" they walked over as Natsu shot a grin at Lucy and winked at her. She gave him a thumbs up and winked in return with a smile. Getting into fighting stances, they started traditional martial arts fighting with hand to hand moves and defensive kicks. Once they were warmed up, he instructed Natsu to relax for a moment. Sensei Fujimoto took a breath before saying "alright, now come at me" Following his instructions, Natsu went forward as Sensi ducked Natsu's punch and swiftly moved behind him locking his arms around his waist. "What the he" but he didn't get to finish as his legs were kicked out from under him bringing them both to the floor. His legs were locked under sensei's as Natsu felt his hands move up to around his throat lightly pressing against it not choking him. "Is..ttthis it?" he coughed out. "Yes, the purpose of this move is to block your opponent and weaken him.

Without fully incapacitating your opponent, this can cause them to eventually give up if you hold long enough or at least weaken them some when you release. But you must be careful not to severely injure which can happen in those fights. I have seen it happen in matches." "Ggoood tto know…can you loosen your grip some" gritted Natsu. "Oh,"I'm sorry, I didn't realize my grip had tightened" he apologized releasing Natsu's neck as he let out a cough. "Care to try it on your own?" Sensei asked getting up off the floor. . "You bet" said Natsu with a confident smirk. They got back into their fighting stances and using some of the kata moves that he learned, they were equally matched for a bit until Natsu decided to try the back mount. Moving quickly, he ducked and rolled behind Sensei Fujimoto and wrapped his arms around his neck while dodging Sensei's punches from behind. Using his feet, he tripped him up gripping Sensei hard hooking his legs around him hard as Sensei rolled back and forth but Natsu wouldn't let up his grip.

He held it until he heard Sensei's hand hit the mat signaling Natsu to let go which he did immediately. Catching his breath some, Sensei managed "you're a fast learner. Nice work" "Thanks" Natsu said graciously. "I didn't grip too tight did I?" "No, I assure you, you are fine" answered Sensei. " I don't think you will need to come back as much as u think you will need to Mr. Dragneel. You seem to adjust quickly to learning" "Yeah…circumstances have taught me to be quick as I can in learning things" "I can see by your fighting style when we started. You're quick and agile along with some aggressiveness." "Yeahh..sorry about that" "Not trying to pry but only certain circumstances forces people to learn moves like that, has there been some tough events in your life?" he asked genuine and kind. "Sensei, that is an understatement along with not being a simple answer" he answered simply. " I see, I don't usually pay attention but when the Dragneel name comes up, it begs the question what they could want" "So you already knew who I was when I showed up?" he asked slightly alarmed. "No, I assure you, I just recognized the name. I apologized if I offended or insulted you in anyway" Sensei said politely. "No..just usually if someone knows my name, it's not for a good thing" said Natsu. "Well let me put your worries aside and say I have no other motive then teaching you what you want to know" he said with an honest smile.

"Appreciate that" replied Natsu. "want to move on to the next move?" Sensei asked. "Oh yeah" said Natsu pumped up. "Okay, the next move is the closed guard position. "Get on your back" instructed Sensei. Doing what he said, Natsu laid on his back. "Now what?" "Open your legs" he replied getting to the floor as Natsu opened his legs. "Now lock legs around me" he ordered. "Huh?, okay then" said Natsu confused but did as he told hooking his legs around Sensei Fujimoto's back "That's it?" asked Natsu. "Yes, it is simple but not always easy to do when your in the middle of a fight but if you can do it, you can keep your opponent from moving allowing you to knock him out. You can also do the open guard which might do you better because it allows you to move your opponent and then you can use the closed guard in your final move" Sensei explained. "Sounds awesome, thanks for that. I'll definitely work on that" said Natsu feeling encouraged. Releasing his legs, he let Sensei stand as he got to his feet and stood up. "So how do you feel?" "Informed, thanks" "Time for our cool down"

They sat on their knees drinking some water then put them down and laid with their hands in front of them. "Always be sure no matter what workout your doing to do a cooling down routine. MMA training can take a lot of you so water and cooling off are very important" Sensei advised. "Noted, thanks" he said then was silence for a couple moments. All the thoughts racing in his head disappeared as Natsu relaxed his mind closing his eyes. They were done when Sensei made a noise ending their cool down. They got to their feet as Natsu waved Lucy over. Smiling, she walked over as Natsu put an arm around her shoulders. "And who is this?" Sensei asked nicely. "Hi, I'm Lucy Dragneel, Natsu's wife" greeted Lucy holding her hand out. Sensei took it and softly shook it for a second. "Nice to meet you" he said "Likewise" she replied. "So, today was a success then?" she asked looking at Natsu. "Yup, he even said I won't have to come back often" "I'd say one more session then you should be good to go Mr. Dragneel to practice at home" said Sensei. "Great" cheered Lucy. "Would you ever consider letting your wife help?" "No way" answered Natsu immediately. Lucy didn't say anything understanding his reasoning. "I have people that can help me but I am not getting her involved" "Understood" Sensei replied bowing his head. "Meet next week?. Same time?" asked Natsu. "It's set" agreed Sensei Fujimoto. They bowed to each other than Natsu and Lucy made their way to their car.

"You did great Natsu, I saw what you did" said Lucy happily. "Thanks Luce, now to go get that equipment and bring it home" ""Ehhh?!"exclaimed Lucy in shock. "What?" Natsu said. "There's no way we have enough room in this car for work out equipment" "Baby relax, There's van at the gym I can drive home while you drive this" he told her calmly as she regained herself making Natsu laugh slightly. "You really think I was planning on having us put all that weight in my car? , hell no Lucy" "Well I'm relieved about that but to tell you, I think I'm going to start looking at other things to take over music" That got his attention as his ears perked up. "Really?" he asked keeping his eyes on the road. "Yes..I think it's time for me to explore new options. I'm not planning on settling on something so quickly though" Stopping at a red light, he placed a hand on top of her, looking at her he said softly " you don't have too.. I know how much music meant to you. Finding something is going to take some time ..but I am really proud of you Luce"

"Thanks..I'm proud of myself" "You should be" he said taking her hand and kissing the top of it making her blush. Driving again, he asked "do you have an idea of what you where you want to start?" "Not yet but I'm going to look around and see what I can find" "Ask Leo too next time we go, he might be able to give you some options and we asked him anyway if there are other methods of therapy you can do anyway" said Natsu. "Good idea" Lucy replied then looked out the window the rest of the time until they got to the gym where Erza and Jellal were waiting for them. They walked to the back part of the gym where there was a van waiting. Jellal opened it and Lucy and Natsu's jaws dropped. "Holy shit Jellal, where did you two find this stuff?. This is a whole set of work out machines, weights and a fucking bench" asked Natsu. "You could just say we had it lying around" answered Erza making them both eye her. "We lived with you Erza and we know there is no way in hell you could fit this stuff in your house" said Lucy lightly. "Will you both shut up and take it?" joked Jellal. "Ssorry..just shock…wow" stuttered Natsu still in shock. "Thanks you guys" said Lucy cheerfully. "Well stop standing there, we have to load this stuff into your house" said Erza snapping Natsu out of his disbelief and back to reality. "RRight" he said quickly shutting the van doors and jumping into the drivers seat while Erza and Jellal climbed in the other side. Lucy went back to his car and started driving. "I'm so happy for him" she thought to herself.

Once they got there, Lucy pulled over enough so the van could back up to the stairs leading into the house. Hopping out, Jellal and Natsu opened the van and began slowly lifting the machines into the house. "WWhere do you want this?" asked Jellal feeling the weight of the machine. "Let's go back to the pool room" said Natsu as they lifted the elliptical machine into the house taking breaks in between until they reached the back of the house and set it down. "Alright" said Jellal already sweating. "Only five more trips to go" teased Natsu."Psh yeah sure" replied Jellal in good humor as they walked back to the van and began lifting the training bench. "Mommy?" Lucy and Erza turned around to see Layla hop off the bus. "Hey baby" Lucy replied hugging. "What's daddy doing?" she asked. "Daddy and Jellal are bringing in work out stuff for him so stay clear out of the way until they are done" she told her. "Okay" she answered plainly. Lifting the dumb bells and then the barbell set. They were sweating like crazy by the time the last thing that had to come out was finally taken. Natsu and Jellal planted themselves hard on the staircase outside as Erza and Lucy walked up to them. "So only a few trips huh?" Lucy teased sarcastically making Erza giggle. Jellal and Natsu shot her a look that they were in not in the mood. Lightly shaking her head, Lucy went and got them tall glasses of cold water and brought them back. They sucked them down. "Ready to work out then?" Jellal asked Natsu.

"Shut the fuck up you ass" he replied lightly. "No fucking way" he said lazily laying back on the porch putting his hands behind his head. "Daddy said bad words" Layla said giggling. His eyes widened instantly sitting up. "I didn't know she was here!" yelled Natsu in surprise. "Haha, she came home while you guys were bringing stuff back." "Way to control your mouth Natsu" Erza said with a smirk. Wiping his forehead, he held his hands out as Layla walked to him. "Hey baby girl" he greeted hugging her as Layla rested her head on his shoulder putting her hands around his neck. "Hi daddy" she said sweetly. "Have a good day?" "Uh huh" she replied. Letting her go, he stood up as Lucy joined and stood next to them, "Hey, why don't you guys stay for dinner?" said Natsu. "I agree, you guys should. Been a little bit since you guys came over. I'll call Gray over" said Lucy. "Sounds nice, thanks guys" said Erza very formal. "You can relax Erza, no need to sound formal" said Natsu. "Sorry, force of habit" "Come on" he said ushering everyone inside. Lucy called Gray over and they had a nice night just hanging out. Layla managed to make all of them play with her at once until she wore herself out then Natsu put her to bed. Coming back down, they quieted down but still enjoyed each other's company. "It's been a while since we all got together like this. It was nice" said Gray. "Agreed, you should bring Juvia over sometime Gray. I've only talked to her like once or twice" "I'll pass that along, I'm sure she would love too" replied Gray. "Hell, let's get metal face and Levy over here too" chipped in Natsu. Lucy felt giddy inside as she smiled a big smile "we'll do a big get together in the backyard!" she said excited making Natsu chuckle.

"She is so freaking cute when she is excited" he thought watching her throw her arms out as she rambled about what they could do and the food. "Woah , woah, alright baby, calm down" he said still laughing after a minute sitting her back down the couch. Feeling overjoyed, she scooted between Natsu's legs and laid herself against him grabbing his arms, she circled them around her. "You weirdo" he said caringly as everyone else smiled at her. They hung out for a while more until they decided to call it a night. "We'll let you guys know when the cookout is" said Natsu as they all left. The next day , Natsu and Lucy were on the way to see another trainer Natsu had found. "So what is this trainer specialize in?" asked Lucy. "Judo martial arts. I'm going to learn some hand and foot movements" "Didn't the first teacher you went too before teach you that?" "He taught me some but not all Luce and that was a different form of martial arts" he explained. "Okay.. still taking me time to grasp the fact that they are so many different forms to MMA" "I understand. Heck you should've seen me when I was looking up shit. It felt like it took me forever just to limit down to a few specific moves. I'll go into learning more once I get good at it but for just starting out, yeah there's a lot" "Well I have all the confidence in you that you will master this" said Lucy optimistic.

"Thanks Luce" he said. They drove for another forty-five minutes until they arrived at the judo gym. Walking in, Lucy went and found a seat and pulled out a book while Natsu went and found his teacher. Wearing a black uniform, he looked a little older than Natsu. "Hello" the man said friendly. "Hi, I'm Natsu" he greeted leaving his last name off. "Hi, I'm Mr. Clark, nice to meet you. What can I help you with?" "I called here a few days ago to see if someone could teach me some judo today" "Right, I remember our staff telling us someone called. Are you familiar with judo?" "Unfortunately, not as well I'd like to be. I'm training for the MMA and I know judo is used so I'd like to learn some techniques if that is possible" "Yes, I don't have any classes right now so I will teach you" said Mr. Clark pleasantly. "That would be great" said Natsu. "Come with me to the mats" he said. Natsu followed behind him. "Well since you are starting out, the hand techniques I will show you is the Tai Otoshi, it's a body drop and the two-hand shoulder drop then once we're done with that then we can move on to the leg techniques. Hope you don't have any plans because this will take some time" "Nope, I'm free until two pm then I need to go" said Natsu. "Understood, well then let's get started then" They started with a warm out workout getting Natsu's muscles fired up and ready for the main workout.

After they did that, Mr. Clark stood side by side. "Alright, are you ready?" he asked Natsu. "Ready for" but he didn't get to finish as Mr. Clark grabbed ahold of his shirt and sliding a leg between Natsu's brought him crashing down to the floor knocking the wind out of him at how fast that happened. "Wha..the hell?" he managed to say through being stunned. "It's a very fast movement that relies on timing and the speed at which you are coming" he explained as he helped Natsu get to his feet. "Damn, that took me for a loop" said Natsu. "Do you still want to continue?" he asked curious. Shaking his shock off, Natsu looked at him serious and said "yes, continue to teach me. Give me all you've got" "Okay" Mr. Clark replied with a nice grin as he explained to Natsu step by step the movement he just did then had Natsu repeat it a few times. "Alright, time for a break, get some water" Mr. Clark instructed. Natsu grabbed his water bottle and began drinking some down. They sat down for a few minutes resting. "You ready for the next move?" he asked.

Taking one more sip, Natsu replied "yes sir" wiping the water off his mouth. Putting their water away, they stood back up . "For this move, you need to make sure your back is physically strong because this requires a lot of strength" "I'm good there" "Alright then lift me over your shoulder" said Mr. Clark blunt. "Wha, your serious?" He nodded as Natsu smirked and said "alright but remember you asked for this" Walking over, Mr. clark told Natsu "grab at my chest" Doing what he said , he grabbed when he said "put me on your back and then..throw me" "I don't want to hurt you" "That's why we have these matts, trust me, your fine" assured Mr. Clark. Not asking questions, Natsu grabbed him and put him on his back then got eye contact with him making sure he was ready to be thrown then threw him clear across his shoulders. He watched as Mr. Clark landed hard on his back. Nervous, he rushed over to help his teacher up. "Jesus, are you alright? I didn't mean to throw you that hard" said Natsu. Sitting up, he calmly said "I assure you I'm fine. This is what you do in Judo. Just when you face a real opponent, don't feel sorry or hesitate because the second you do, the match is over" "Understood" he said firmly holding his hand out. Mr. Clark stood up and said "care to try again?" Natsu smiled hopeful as they went at it again a couple more times before Mr. Clark called it good.

"Thanks a lot Mr. Clark." Natsu said very pleased. "Your welcome Mr. Natsu. I look forward to the next time we meet." He bowed as Natsu returned it. "As do I" Natsu replied with a smile as Lucy came up and took his hand then they walked out together. "So after these last couple days, how are you feeling?" she asked optimistic. "Sore as crap but I feel great. I think another week of seeing both of these guys and then I will be good to go to train at home" he said feeling positive. "I'm so happy for you Natsu" "Thanks Luce. Let's head on home so we can see our baby" "Right!" she said cheerfully as they got into the car and headed home. A week went by then Natsu began training at home. He would try to fit in his workouts while Layla was at school then if he couldn't , he would wait until Layla went to bed and did some late-night workouts.

On the days he wasn't training, he still went with Lucy to her therapy appointments while she did some digging herself into different options for what she could to take the place of singing. "There's painting, swimming, pet therapy and oh wow, dancing therapy..but never been much of a dancer so I can cross that one out right now. Let's see. Adventure therapy..nahh" she said making up her mind as she looked at the remaining options. "Swimming, yeah, I could that a try. Good thing we have a pool in the back. Pet therapy might be cute. Painting, that sounds nice so I'll see if there's any painting classes and try that" she thought to herself as she heard a loud grunt. Closing her laptop and setting her notebook down, she went towards the back of the house towards the pool area and opened the door where she saw Natsu lifting a heavy 75 pound weight. "oh wow" she thought to herself watching him. "Just in the last week that he's been working out, his body has already improved. His back rippled with sweat as she raised her eyebrows impressed looking at muscle tone he got. "Oh hey Luce" he greeted as she stared at him. "Heeyyy Luce," he said waving his hand snapping her out of it. "My face is up here you goof" he said amused pointing two fingers toward his face. "Sorry, I just distracted by your body" she said honestly. "Hmm, like what your seeing huh?" he said chuckling. "Oh yes" she exclaimed. "Ha,..well it's yours for the taking if you want" he said seductively. "Hmm, next time , right now, I liked watching you" "Oh, well thanks" he said slightly blushing with a hand behind his head. "I came because I heard you grunt and wanted to make sure everything was good but I liked what I saw" she replied. "Well I'll let you get back to it" she said lightly walking out of the room as Natsu shook his head amused. "That girl makes me crazy" he thought happily to himself as he went back to lifting weights.

A month gradually went by as Natsu trained for his MMA and Lucy did some exploring for herself while still being good on going to see Leo now once a week again with Natsu. He would ask Jellal and Gray to come over when he would be doing workouts using the moves he learned. "Damn dude, try not to break my back" said Gray as he was training with Natsu one day. "Sorry" he said friendly helping Gray to his feet. "You've definitely improved since you first started training." Said Jellal observing. "Thanks man" replied Natsu. "How's Lucy?" "She's good..she's trying to find something else to replace her singing" he said then got a saddened look in his eyes. "Nahh, Natsu, you've got to let go of that guilt. You just said she was doing better. Why would she relapse now?" questioned Gray. "Yeah , that's what I thought the first time then look what happened" he said defensive. "Easy Natsu, no one is trying to start a fight" Jellal said calmly. "That's why I joined MMA in the first place, help ease off this guilt" "Does Lucy even know that's why?" asked Gray. "No" Natsu answered immediately then gave Gray a dirty look and said "and she won't find out" " Got it boss" he answered loosely. "Ahem, anyway, we are just glad she is doing good" said Jellal trying to ease the small tension. "Me too" replied Natsu. "Wanna get your butt kicked next?" Natsu asked Jellal with a smirk. Jellal lightly shook his head and said "sure" and walked over as Natsu got into his fighting stance. Jellal on the opposite side did the same as Natsu came at him. Jellal stepped to the side quickly avoiding Natsu's first punch but couldn't relax as Natsu came behind him and grabbed his chest threw him to a corner as Natsu ran over and picked him up over his shoulder and slammed Jellal to the floor holding him there.

"Damn, your timing has improved for sure" said Jellal feeling the force of Natsu's move. "Good" "The rounds are only five minutes long so if I can take down who I'm fighting in less time, I'll be great" said Natsu. "Yeah just remember your opponents won't be us" reminded Gray. " I know but I appreciate the warning" thanked Natsu. "I think I'm done for the day anyway. Thanks guys" Natsu said lightly as he grabbed a towel wiping the sweat off his face then put it around his shoulders. "Training done then guys?" asked Lucy seeing them come into the living room. " Yup, pyro over here is improving so we don't have to stay nearly as long anymore. As opposed to the first time, we were stuck here for three hours as opposed to just an hour now" teased Gray. "Oh shut it you damn stripper" "Hey, I don't do that as much anymore!" sniped Gray as they all laughed. "But you still do it is the point Gray. Haha" Natsu said highly amused. "Arrgh, anyway, we're gonna get Lucy. See you later" Gray said casually as he motioned two fingers towards and Jellal waved a friendly goodbye as they headed out the door.

"You know, I could always help you with your workouts" said Lucy once the guys left. Raising an eyebrow, he said "when you say help?" Lucy unbuttoned her shirt part way making Natsu's eyes widen. " Yup..i can help" her voice full of desire.

Throwing the towel, he grinned as he growled sexily picking her up bridal style and running her upstairs where they enjoyed each other until he had to jump in the shower before Layla got home. "So your going to help me with my workouts then huh?" he said lightly as he stepped out of the shower drying his hair with a towel. " It'll give you more motivation" she teased. "Oh that and so much more" he answered. She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his stomach feeling his muscles. "Baby, you have improved so much" she said happily. "Thanks Luce" he said as he saw her hands slowly go down his body until they got around to his lower half where she lightly grabbed his member. "Aaayyyyyeeee, Lluce, baby" he said carefully unhooking her fingers as she whined. "Baby, didn't we just get finished doing that?" he asked "Yes but doesn't mean I can't touch it and other part of your body, It belongs to me" she said with attitude crossing her arms. Eyeing her he said "Oh is someone territorial? "you betcha" she replied grabbing his arm and pulling him into her. "I fought for my dragon, he is mine" she said proudly as he looked down at her and caressed her cheek as she cutely smiled at him. "yes he is" he said filled with passion as he lowered his head to kiss her. "Helloo?" they heard from downstairs. "Be down in a second baby girl" Lucy yelled pushing Natsu away as he smirked at her getting himself dressed. "Mommy?" "Just a second Layla, stay down there" she replied throwing on clothes as fast as she could.

Natsu got his socks on and followed Lucy down the stairs. "Hii" Layla said cheerfully as she ran to them once they were downstairs. "Hey baby girl" said Natsu rubbing her head as she giggled and hugged their hugs making Lucy and Natsu's faces turn red with happiness. "How was your day today?" asked Lucy. "Good, we did numbers today" answered Layla. "That's great" said Natsu pleased. "Did you do your training daddy?" she asked curious. "Yes, I did" "My daddy's gonna be so strong!" she announced loudly in joy making Lucy and Natsu chuckle. "I'm not that strong yet baby dragon..but I appreciate the support." Said Natsu lightly. ""Always" said Layla with a happy smile. "You and your mom are all the support I need, as long as I have you two, I can do anything" "Yay!" cheered Layla. "Alright, let's get something figured out for dinner" said Lucy clapping her hands together assertively. "Ha, okay, you heard her Layla" said Natsu amused. "Okay" Layla replied simply.


	22. Chapter 22

In the days following, Natsu intensified his workouts. His shoulders were firm and tone with muscle while his chest was strong and much to Lucy's approval. He liked it when she watched. He was doing pull up's at one point when Lucy walked in. "Oh .my" she thought very much approved. Looking, his back flexed as she could clearly see the muscles showing through. "Oh Natsu" she cooed. His ears perked up as he turned and smiled "Hey Luce" he greeted as she walked over. Not saying a word, she put her hands around his back and wrapped her legs around his waist. Natsu looked at her confused for a moment before she eyed the pull up bar and back at Natsu. "Really?" he said surprised getting the message. She nodded as he said "Okay" lightly as she grabbed hold of his back tight while Natsu reached up for the pull up bar lifting his feet off the floor. He grunted and focused on the bar in front of him while Lucy looked up proud. "Way to go Natsu" she thought as she lifted her head up on the other side to surprise him as she kissed him once he reached the top.

Deeply and passionately she kissed him and he felt every bit of it as he went back down. "Ddamn..does this mean your going to help me with my work out then?" he asked eager as she let go and got off him. Standing in a corner, she said seductively "for every set that you complete, a piece comes off" she pulled at her shirt as Natsu's jaw dropped. She giggled as she walked back over to him and softly closed his mouth putting a hand on his chin. She very lightly tapped his nose and said "you have to complete every set though..or nothing comes off" "Yes ma'am" he said eagerly and excited. Lucy went and sat down in the corner to watch him. Going to cardio, he went to his elliptical and was on it for forty-five minutes. He jumped down when he was done and looked at Lucy who was eyeing Natsu who removed her socks and smiled a sexy smile. "You have to keep going if you want more" she told him as he nodded his head. He moved to squatting next and doing two sets of thirty. She watched as the sweat dripped down his face. He finished them as he stared at Lucy who sexily slowly began taking her off her pants. He started quivering in desire as she revealed her bare legs. "Uh uh" she teased shaking a finger and her head.

"Not till your done" "Your evil you know that" "No, not evil, it's motivation remember?" she said amused. "Oh I'm motivated alright" he said raising his eyebrows. Next came a set of burpees. " I'm gonna be hurting after all this" he thought as he got down to the floor in a squat position then he put his legs back in a push up then returned to a squat position and finally stood up raising his arms and jumped. "Great, now just do ten more of those" teased Lucy as he looked down at her. Wiping his sweat he said " I better be getting a reward after this" She snickered as Natsu went and did ten more burpees then put his hands on his knees panting. "Jeeze, hell of a workout" He closed his eyes letting out breaths when he opened up to see a water bottle in front of his face. He looked up to see a caring smile on Lucy's face. "Here you go, you hard worker" she said as he gladly took the water and started sucking it down. He drank most of it as he put the lid back down. Stepping back from him, Lucy slowly and painfully to Natsu's mind slipped her underwear off and twirled it around her finger then gave him a teasing look. He shook his head "I am going to have every single strip of clothes removed off you by the time I'm done" he said determined.

Having worked his calves, core and back. "Alright, time for some weightlifting" he said as he picked up his fifty-pound weights and began to work his triceps lifting them up and down in his hands. He did 3 reps of fifteen then put them down and drank some water as Lucy lifted her shirt grabbing Natsu's attention. "You want it?" she asked as his mouth dropped as he nodded. "One more set" she said with a wink as he got a serious look on his face putting the bottle down. He went to his weight bench and set the weights to sixty-eight pounds and laid down the bench. He began lifting and counted quietly to himself. He got to forty as he set the weight down and rested for a couple moments letting out small breaths then picked it back up again counting to twenty. "One more" he thought as he picked up the weight one more time and counted to ten. Setting it down, he sat up with his face hanging down. Lucy saw the sweat pouring off all over his body as he looked up at her and wiggled a finger at her. Innocent like she walked over as he grabbed her wrist and gently pulled her down to him.

Getting to her knees, she looked into his craving and longing eyes. "Natsu" she squeaked. Smirking, he silently removed her bra leaving her fully naked as he gently put a hand on her lower back bringing her to the floor. "Na" he put a finger to her lips stopping her. "No,no, it's my time my love slave" he said casually as he slipped his fingers into her and began going in and out making Lucy roll her eyes as she gave into the pleasure. Keeping his fingers there he bent down and began sucking her breast making her moan. She put her hands through his hair pulling at it " "she moaned. Taking his fingers out, he caressed the side of her face as he bit down on her neck making her cry out in ecstasy. He bit harder enjoying making her squeal and moan. Finally she climaxed as he let go" "You went a long time on that one my love" Panting she said "what can I say..i was enjoying myself" He grinned as he had her turn around and get on her knees. Removing his pants, he lowered his boxers. "Hee hee, you ready baby?" he asked gleefully as she nodded. Inserting his cock into her, she began yelling out. "Yes!, mmore!" "More baby?" "Yesss" "How do you ask, come on?" he teased hard. "Master!, please give me more" she cried as he gladly answered pounding into her hard. "Oh yeah, my warrior knows what she likes" Pulling her hair, he lifted her head back as she howled in bliss.

"Are you going to cum for me Luce?, hmm..?" he asked then increased his speed as she balled her hands and screamed. "There you go!" yelled Natsu gladly. She screamed as he let go of her hair where she put her head down and breathed heavily. "I'm ggonna..cc….ahhhhh.." he said satisfied and relieved pulling himself out of her. He grabbed a towel to clean her butt and wipe himself off then went to lay next to her. "So, did I deliver? " she asked "Yes that and more" he happily replied. "Good" "So are you going to do this every week?" he asked optimistically. Soon it was days before Natsu's first official fight, Natsu was training was crazy while still spending quality time with the girls. Lucy was trying out her different therapy options. The day came when it was finally the night before his fight. They had already tucked Layla in and were sitting in bed snuggling with each other. " Are you ready Natsu?" she asked "Luce, If I'm not ready now after two months then I don't know when I will be" "Just be careful Natsu..please" Putting his arm around her, he squeezed gently and said "no worries Luce"

Waking up the next morning, Lucy and Natsu kissed Layla goodbye as she got on the bus for school. "Your not doing anything heavy before your fight tonight are you?" she asked worried "Nahh, just some light stuff" he answered calm and laid back. The day passed as Natsu got ready for his fight until it was time for Lucy and Natsu to bring Layla to Levy's. "Alright, Levy, be good for your aunt..and don't make her get up too much okay?" she said with some seriousness. "Yes mommy" she replied as Levy and Gajeel went to stand up next to her. "You okay Levy, you look like you can pop any day now?" said Natsu blunt as Lucy smacked him lightly on the chest. "Hey, I was just asking a question Luce, sheesh" he said defensively . "It wasn't the question , it was how you asked it" said Lucy. Chuckling Levy said "it's fine Lu. Yes Natsu, this baby is about ready to come out" she smiled as she rubbed her belly. "Good luck Natsu" said Levy. "Thanks" he replied. "Yeah good luck pyro try not to get your butt kicked this time" Gajeel said in good humor. "I'll try to remember that" Natsu said as they headed towards the door.

"Good luck daddy!" Layla yelled. "Thanks baby girl" he said lovingly as they headed out. "Erza going to meet us there?" asked Natsu. "Yup, so we gotta get going now" answered Lucy. Getting into the car, they drove to the arena. Erza was standing there waiting for them leaning on her car. "Hey Erza" greeted Natsu as he waved to her. "Are you ready?" she asked serious as she stood up away from her car. "Yup" "Let's go inside then" she said walking towards the front door not waiting for an response. They quickly followed after her. "Okay Natsu, there's the changing room over there, Lucy and I will go join the audience and watch you from there" said Erza walking away and giving them a moment. Lucy put her arms around Natsu's waist hugging him tight. "I'll be alright Luce. I promise" he said assuring her. "Go on now, cheer for me in the crowd" she let go as she gave him a loving smile and quick kiss on the lips before he went to change. Lucy went and found Erza and sat down. " You alright?" Erza asked seeing the nervousness on her face. "I'm good Erza. Thanks." "I know the manager of this place so if anything happens, I can signal him to stop a match" Erza explained. "I appreciate it" Lucy said thoughtfully. Taking his shirt off, Natsu slipped on his black pants with red flames running down the sides. Letting out a breath he said "okay Natsu, let's go do this" He slipped his shoes and socks off and walked out the door.

Walking into the arena, lights were everywhere, and the crowd was huge. The arena itself was an octagon cage. He knew from the last time he wasn't supposed to walk down until the announcer said something, so he waited by the doorway. A Few minutes later, the main lights started to dim as the lights around the cage turned on when he heard "Welcome ladies and gentlemen! Tonight. I'm sure there's going to be some fun entertainment tonight" "Well looks like its time" Natsu thought standing himself up. "I'll finally get to make up for leaving her that night" The announcer spoke again through the microphone "let's get our contestants down to the cage!" Natsu began to make his way slowly down to the cage as women in the crowd ooed at him and his muscled upper body much to Lucy's displeasure. They kept getting worse the further Natsu went down as Lucy's face turned red. "Easy there lady dragon. He's yours and you know it" said Erza trying to calm her. "Doesn't make it any less irritating to have them wowing him"

Getting down to the arena, he turned and held up his hand and pointed to his wedding band smiling. Lucy and Erza heard all the women whining as Lucy had a victorious little smirk on her face. "Ha, yup he's mine ladies" she thought proudly to herself. "Feel better now?" Erza asked. "Yup. Now I'm ready to watch his match." Lucy replied eager and happy. "What do you want to be called young man?" the announcer asked him quietly taking his voice away from the mic. "Wait till after the match.. then I'll tell you" replied Natsu surprising the man but he shrugged it off and said "okay" They watched as his opponent came down. A large heavily muscled man came down and stood in front of Natsu. His face not showing any sign of joking or amusement. The announcer looked at them and said "are you two ready?" they both nodded as he motioned with his hand to step inside the cage. As they did, he stepped in with them and stood between them. "Alright gentlemen, there will be five rounds. Each lasting five minutes except for the opening match. That will be ten minutes long. No head stomps allowed , kicking and using your knees can be an option but no stomps to the head. Should either of you feel at any point that you can't continue, raise your arm or say forfeit. Are you both ready?" They both nodded as he said "very well , get your protection on and put your mouthguard in" Both Natsu and his opponent did as instructed then stood there. The song Headstrong by Trapt began to play as they stood in front of each other.

The announcer stood back to the side as he said "okay gentlemen, you have ten minutes..FIGHT" The gong went off as everyone cheered in the crowd. Lucy and Erza watched as they saw the seriousness on Natsu's face. "Come on baby, you got this" she thought encouraging as Natsu started immediately surprising everyone. He didn't hesitate as he wrenched his arm back and punched the man hard in the face knocking him off his balance. He grinned as he closed his eyes for a moment then reopened them as he charged forward. Using one of the moves he learned, he grabbed the man's waist hard and kicked out his feet. Grabbing him, Natsu threw him over his shoulder clear across the room. Turning, Lucy caught something in his eyes, something familiar. "What is this that I'm sensing?" she thought to herself curious as she watched intensely. Suddenly he did moves that Lucy did not recognize. "Holy crap, when did Natsu learn those?" asked Erza. "He didn't" Lucy answered immediately, she squinted her eyes at Natsu who had a wicked smile on his face as he beat his opponent. " Natsu!" Lucy yelled out but he didn't respond.

Coming to an realization , she shuttered as he turned to look at her with a serious face. "Oh no" Lucy thought worried. "What is it Lucy?" asked Erza seeing her face. Lucy shook her head slowly. "That isn't Natsu" she muttered. "Huh?, what do you mean?" "That's END" "What!, are you-" but Erza cut herself off seeing the firm look on Lucy's face. She turned and looked at Natsu in the cage "You fool Natsu, what have you done?" The guy was almost beat to hell and she could see the enjoyment on his face. Standing up, Lucy put her hands to her mouth and yelled "Eitherous!" She knew though nobody else could hear , he would with his good hearing as he saw Lucy and Erza come running down the stairs. She glared at him while he put up a finger up and hard punched the guy knocking him out as he fell to the floor. "What are you planning on doing?" Erza asked. "I need to talk to him..if I don't , the next opponent is screwed" Lucy warned as Erza understanding gave a cut off signal to the manager. The gong went off as END took out his mouthguard. Not wasting another second, Lucy grabbed him by the ear and pulled dragging him with her. "Ow, ow, ow, ow,ow" he whined as she wouldn't let go pulling him right into the next room with Erza right behind her.

Erza shut the door behind them as Lucy let go of his ear. Rubbing it, he yelled "that hurt, what the hell Luce!" "Why are you out?!" she demanded annoyed. Still rubbing his ear, he looked at her. "Well?" she snapped waiting for an answer. "You have no idea" "What are you talking about?" she said confused. "It's nothing" he mumbled turning away from her. "Hey" she said concerned grabbing his arm, she looked into his face. She could see regret all over his face. "Eitherous, talk to me..what are you hiding. That Natsu won't tell me" "Forget it Lucy" he said hard. "You need to stop this Natsu, I'm talking to you. Your going too far" she warned. "Do you understand" she asked with some hope. "Yeah, I hear you Lucy" Natsu said uncaringly. "His next match is about to start, he needs to go back out Lucy" Erza notified. "Better get back out there" said Lucy more upbeat. He grinned as he opened the door where the crowd cheered for him. Lucy and Erza went to sit back down as Natsu stepped back into the cage. His next opponent was another big muscled man. "Prepare to get your ass kicked boy" he told Natsu cocky. "You have no idea" End whispered to himself. The song monster by skillet started playing. "Perfect" he thought putting the mouth guard in. Closing his eyes , he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Come on Natsu, is it you this time?" Lucy thought watching him. Soon as the gong went off, his eyes flashed open as he jumped into the air and spun in a circle before anyone could blink kicking the guy hard multiple times in the chest with both his feel slamming him against the wall. The crowd oo'ed in pain for his opponent. Getting up, the guy attempted to pull on over on Natsu dodging his kick. Turning towards him, End punched him hard in the stomach, the sensitive parts of his arm and then his knee caps bringing him to the floor grasping in pain. The guy held his hand up in surrender.

The gong went off as the referee signaled the match was over. "Three minutes, not bad" he thought to himself.. "What should we call you?" the announcer asked him. "Hmm, call me. E.N.D..the monster is out." He chuckled to himself Raising Natsu's arm, the announce yelled "E.N.D! is the winner" Natsu raised his other arm in victory. Eyeing him, Lucy shivered when Natsu smiled a malicious smile at her "Lucy?" said Erza worried "He heard me but Natsu didn't listen." "What do you want to do?" Erza asked immediately serious. "There's nothing we can do…you trained him too well Erza. You trained him to suppress and control so now he can come out at will" said Lucy point blank. "Sorry about that, I didn't know training him to keep his anger under control would mean he could come free. We could stop right now and pull him all out together." "No, that wouldn't accomplish a thing except piss him off. Natsu has trained hard for this and well ..now we just need to find a way to put END back in..which won't be easy now that he's out" "Let me try, I'll get through to him" said Erza serious. "NO, the last thing we need is for you two to go head to head. No Erza, you have no idea what he is capable of" said Lucy trying to reason with her. "Lucy, I'm slightly offended , I've fought guys five times stronger then him" said Erza irritated. Lucy gave her a skeptical look as she shook her head. "No Erza" she said quietly shaking her head opening her eyes watching END.

"You haven't, END is stronger than Natsu and as you just saw ,knows more MMA moves then Natsu because Natsu never trained using any of those but END knew them. You haven't faced anyone like him. He doesn't have a conscious ..not for anyone…but for me. Which is why he only used to come out when I was threatened. He not only has the full physical capability of beating you, he's another side of Natsu so he knows everything. He can push whatever buttons he needs too with the right words" "I had no idea.. I know I felt something back when Gray explained it after you were taken by Zeref." Said Erza. "Zeref had no idea what he unleashed when he grabbed me" Lucy said darkly. "If you don't have a hint of fear Erza, then your dumb" "I do Lucy.. he almost killed me for letting Zeref take you." Lucy's eyes widened. "I had no idea" "Yeah..that was the first time Natsu has truly frightened me. He would have killed me if anything had happened to you, I'm sure of it. So trust me, I do have a fear of him.. but I wont let that stop me if I have to face him" Erza said bluntly honest. "Understood" said Lucy. "Don't ask for that Erza…you don't want it to go that way" she thought. "Animal I've become by three days grace began playing over the speakers as End put his mouthpiece back in.

Lucy and Erza watched in horror that they couldn't do anything as they watched the referee wave his hands when his opponent grabbed a flag and threw it stopping the match. Lucy shook her head. "four minutes. End..why are you doing this, Natsu.." she thought wanting to know. Taking a minute, End sat down and drank down some water then wiped the remnants off his mouth. " It's finally starting to disappear ..the guilt" he thought with some relief. He stood back up with his break being up. The song I will not bow by Breaking Benjamin began to play. "Damn, must be someone reading my mind tonight cause these songs are all about me" he said amused to himself. He got back into the cage. "Your gonna be begging for me to stop by the time I'm done with you punk" said his opponent who towered him. "Heh, I don't think so you cocky bastard" said End. "Nobody commands me. Not one" he thought putting the mouthpiece by in his mouth. The gong went off as the man circled End who stood there not moving an inch as the guy moved very warily around him. End stood there with a relaxed expression setting Lucy and Erza on edge.

"What is he doing?" Erza asked Lucy. "He's waiting. If he wanted too , Im pretty sure Eitherous could finish him in two minutes but since they are five minutes," "He's playing you mean" Erza interrupted "Yes" she answered firm. Finally End moved, it was swift and he moved so fast they barely caught him as he dodged around the man as he tried to catch him but End moved too fast for him to lay a finger on him. Laughing, End stopped in a corner and motioned for the man to come at him. Without hesitation, he launched at End who jumped and landed on his back as the man flung his arms back trying to get him off but to no avail. With his body weight, he brough the man to the floor and wrapped his legs around his waist and arms in a chokehold around his throat. The man began to flail his arms around as End squeezed his throat making his opponent start to cough. "Just surrender, you've only got a minute left" he whispered into the man's ear without remorse. He held his grip as the guy refused to give up then the minute passed as the gong went off and he held on for a minute longer. "Sir" "Yeah, yeah" sniped End letting go of the man as his head fell weakly to the floor. "Mm..monster" he mumbled. Hearing him, End smiled a fang showing smile and said "yes I am. Thanks" "One more match" thought End and Lucy. He sat down and took some more of his water.

"When is Natsu going to come back out?" Erza said through gritted teeth as she balled her hands. Seeing her hands, Lucy gently put a hand over them. "Calm down , if he sees that, it will just add to his amusement" Lucy said plainly. "You aren't worried?" asked Erza stunned at looking at how calm her face was. " No because that is just another side of the man I love. Natsu is still very much aware of everything. It's why he hasn't come back. There's something he doesn't want me to know" " I know what it is..but still don't understand why end is out" she thought. "What?" said Lucy seeing the confliction on Erza's face. " " Erza said quickly calming her face. "Does she know what Natsu is hiding?" Lucy thought as the song are you ready by Creed started playing and the crowd got all excited. End stood up as he put his mouth guard back in , making sure the groin protector was secure then stood up and walked to the middle of the cage where his opponent, a young man about his size with firm muscle walked out and stood on the other side of him. "Hmph, this kid doesn't know what he's in for" thought End mercilessly as Natsu's voice popped into his head "Don't hurt the kid too bad" "Yeah, yeah psh" he muttered. End looked at the young man and tried not to laugh at his attempt at a serious looking face.

"This kid is gonna kick my ass, don't make me laugh" he thought amused. Seeing the referee, he put his jokes aside and got serious as he said "this is the final match, whoever wins is the winner of the night" They nodded understanding as the referee moved aside and the gong went off. The young man went straight for End who didn't hesitate but landed a hard punch to the kids face knocking him to the floor. Grabbing his nose, the young man looked up End who smiled a wicked cocky smile. "Give up now kid and you won't be humiliated" he said as the kid determined got to his feet. "Never, I'm going to beat you" Sighing, End said " Don't say I didn't warn you. Tried to give you a chance" Slipping his mouth guard back in, End didn't wait as he went to the floor and elbowed the kid hard making the kid cry out. Showing no mercy or restraint, he soccer kicked him in the head and slammed his leg down on his knees. The kid grabbed at his knees as End picked him up off the floor and threw him against the cage.

Running over ,End aggressively body slammed into him as his elbow landed into his stomach as the kid curled up in pain. The gong went off as End spit out the mouth guard into his hand. Looking down at the wounded kid, he had a mildly serious look on his face as he said "I warned you kid. Look for something else" Everyone cheered for End as he looked towards the crowd and smiled a victory smile. The referee came and took his arm and motioned towards him signaling he was the winner. "YESSS!" he shouted happily. Looking at him, Lucy couldn't help but smile "Way to go my dragon " she thought as she clapped for her husband. Erza not happy with him clapped none the less. The crowd roared for him as he exited the cage. "See you next competition everyone!" Grabbing a towel, he wiped the sweat off his face and walked back towards the changing room when the manager stopped him. "So you are looking to go competitive?" he asked curious. "Yes, otherwise I wouldn't have done this. It's all or nothing for me" "Great to hear, there's another match in a couple weeks." "Hold up, are you trying to hire me?" End asked. "Is that a problem?" "Not at all" "Great, I'll see you in a couple weeks then we can talk about a schedule" "Sounds good" End said holding out his hand as the manager shook it. The manager walked away looking happy as End walked into the changing room.

"What was that?" asked Lucy who came just as the men split up and Natsu went to change. "I'll go find out, you go wait for Natsu" said Erza as she went to catch up with the manager. Lucy only had to wait for a few minutes as Natsu came out fully clothed and shoes on. "Hey Luce" he said with a smile. She walked over to him as he planted a deep kiss inserting his tongue into hers. She felt deep longing and desire along with passion unlike she had felt before. Pushing him away, she saw the glint in his eyes. "End" she said annoyed. "Hey" "Where's Natsu, why hasn't he come back out yet?" she asked demanding. "He will, I promise. He's letting me enjoy my time and the fact that I just got us a deal" said End. "Huh?," "That manager?, he just gave me a deal Lucy. He wants me to compete in real MMA fighting" "That's..that's great. But you can't keep coming every time Eitherious. Natsu needs to do this himself" "Lucy, I know why the manager wanted Natsu" said Erza as she stopped suddenly in front of them. "Did I miss something?" Natsu growled at Erza giving her an angry wild look. "End" Erza said darkly as she glared at him. "Haven't seen you since the last time you almost let my wife die" "Eitherous, don't" Lucy said quickly but he wouldn't listen. "You went too far End, you nearly beat your opponents to death" "I was within the rules" he shot back at her.

"Erza, stop!" Lucy yelled. "No Lucy, I told you I would face him if I have too" "Ughh, damn it Erza, this isn't about your damn pride, stop now before you get fucking hurt" Lucy snapped at her. "I'd listen to her" End said coldly. "Why haven't you let it go yet Natsu!" Erza yelled leaving Lucy confused. She looked at End's face who seemed to know exactly what she was talking about. "Shut your damn mouth Fernandez" End said hostile. "NO, why haven't you let it go, I know you can hear me, your hiding behind your biggest defense, I never picked you for a coward" "Watch your damn tongue Erza, whether I'm me or not , I am still your fucking boss and your going to show me respect" said End "Eitherous..what is she talking about!" Lucy yelled. "You have no idea what he/I have been feeling these last couple months" he said with some guilt and regret getting Lucy's attention. " . what have you felt?" asked Lucy calmly with concern. "Tell her and stop being a damn coward about it" snapped Erza. "Erza!" yelled Lucy as End's temper snapped as he shoved past Lucy and ran straight for Erza who stood in a defensive position.

She held her ground as End shoved her. "I'm not trying to hurt you Natsu! Just want you to clear your head" " I was working on it" he growled. "Natsu?" Catching her off guard, he tripped her making her lose footing as she fell to the ground. End grabbing her wrists slammed them into the ground gripping them tight. "Your pride is going to get you killed" With a wild angry face, he towered over her as he took an arm and got ready to punch her hard when they heard "NATSU! End looked over and saw something shaking him to his core. Lucy stood there with an arm to her heart crying. " " End said pained as he closed his eyes and reopened them. Natsu ran over as he held Lucy in his arms as she cried onto his chest. "Baby , I'm sorry" he said heartfelt "Natsu" she cried. "It's me, I swear" he replied as he began to rub her back. Looking up at him she said "please tell me what's been killing you" "Hmph, me and my big mouth" he said snidely, "End was just trying to help you..but please tell me yourself" Looking down, Lucy lowered her head so she could see his face. "Guilt" he mumbled. "Guilt?. Guilt for what Natsu?" He closed his eyes tight as Lucy grabbed and squeezed his hand assuring. "Ffor not being there for you..when you relapsed" Her eyes widened not expecting the answer that came out of mouth. "Natsu..Natsu, you were there babe..you got there as fast as you could" she said honestly. "Yeah.. but if I hadn't gone to that stupid meeting, I would have been there and helped you from getting those scars on your arms" "Natsu" she said softly putting a hand to his cheek. He put his face back up and had Lucy stand as he put a hand on her lower waist.

"Lucy" he said quietly and loving. "Natsu, throw that guilt away. You and your Eitherous side don't need to feel that anymore. I'm getting better. So you don't need to shoulder that burden anymore okay?" she raised her eyebrows softly seeing if he understood. "Yeah baby, I hear you" he said with a warm smile. "Don't give up MMA fighting though.. I know you like it…and I know your other side does too" they both chuckled as she said "you don't have to use it to get through guild anymore" She placed her head on his shoulder and hugged him.

Having been silent the whole time, Erza piped in quietly "Lucy" Lucy's face went from calm and loving to anger as she let up from the hug and walked over and slapped Erza on her left cheek. Erza put a hand to it stunned as she looked at the anger in Lucy's face. "I warned you! I fucking warned you not to piss off or engage End" Lucy yelled. "Lucy" "NO, YOU DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND…HE WAS GOING EASY ON YOU ERZA" Lucy screamed. Her eyes got big as Lucy said "If I hadn't of stopped him, he would have really hurt you" "Lucy, baby, calm down" said Natsu putting his arms on her shoulders from behind as she was fuming with anger. "The only one he listens too is me! But you let your fucking pride get in the way" "Lucy, stop" Natsu said sternly forcing her to turn around and face him. Putting his face into hers, he said in a hushed voice " Baby..relax" "Natsu, she..End" "I know Lucy, believe me..i was there remember..but there is no need to lash out like this" he said reasonably.

Rubbing her shoulder, he said " that's our family and been through enough with us, we aren't going to lose her over a stupid stunt like this are we?" "No" she said sullenly "Come on then Luce, come on" he urged nicely as she turned and walked forward with his arms around her. "Erza" Natsu said coldly. Bowing her head in shame, she said "yes Natsu" "What you did was really stupid and you were a damn idiot to do so" "Yes sir, I'll take any punishment you see fit" Sighing he rubbed his nose between two fingers and said "End was right, your pride is going to get you killed. I've warned you about that before" "Yes sir" she said lowly, her head still down. "Erza, raise your head up" he said in a tired voice, but the seriousness was there. She obeyed as she raised her head to look at Natsu and Lucy who was leaning against him. "What's my punishment?" she asked in a clear voice. "I'm stripping you of your position as second in command" Natsu declared plain and clear.


End file.
